Vieira Closing in on Prestigious 300 Rides Club

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Joao Ricardo Vieira has been flashing his now-famous smile toward CBS Sports Network cameras and winning marquee events for the last eight seasons.

The 36-year-old has been a perennial world title contender for most of his career since he first won the 2013 Rookie of the Year title, and he is now on the cusp of joining an illustrious group of bull riders this weekend at the PBR Built Ford Tough Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, in Glendale, Arizona.

The Itatinga, Brazil native enters Gila River Arena with 297 qualified rides on the premier series. He is three rides away from becoming only the 19th rider in PBR history to record 300 or more rides at the PBR’s highest level of competition.

“It is so fantastic. Three hundred rides, I am so glad for this,” Vieira, the No. 10-ranked bull rider in the world standings, told PBR.com Thursday afternoon. “I happy to hear I am close to 300.”

Vieira has been such a mainstay on the Unleash The Beast that it is easy to forget he was actually 28 years old when he made his debut in the United States on January 25, 2013, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Vieira turned 29 years old later that season, and his soon-to-be 300 rides have occurred during what many would consider the later stages of a bull rider’s career.

 
If Vieira had moved to the United States earlier in his career, it is possible he could have joined 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi (635), two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney (538) and 2004 World Champion Mike Lee (525) in the prestigious 500 rides club.

Vieira has averaged 36.38 rides per season on the premier series. Say he had come to the United States at 21 years old (current world No. 5 Mauricio Moreira is only 21 years old) and seven seasons earlier in 2006, his career pace would have him at 545 qualified rides.

Of course, injuries could have derailed or slowed Vieira’s pace in his earlier career, such as what happened to three-time World Champion Silvano Alves. Alves’s once torrid pace has slowed, but he is still ranked fifth all-time with 426 qualified rides. Alves is only five rides away from passing Valdiron de Oliviera for the fourth-most rides in PBR history.

“I do think if I come early here, I would have about 500 or 600 rides because I work a lot to ride strong,” Vieira said. “I love this. I ride just for fun now, and it is so good.”

Vieira has drawn Slow Hand (3-0, premier series) on Friday night (RidePass, 9:45 p.m. ET)

Riders with 300 or more qualified rides on the premier series

Guilherme Marchi (635)
J.B. Mauney (538)
Mike Lee (525)
Valdiron de Oliveira (430)
Silvano Alves (426)
Chris Shivers (412)
Ross Coleman (402)
Justin McBride (374)
Sean Willingham (368)
Wiley Petersen (356)
Adriano Moraes (337)
L.J. Jenkins (322)
Kody Lostroh (313)
Ednei Caminhas (311)
Robson Palermo (310)
Renato Nunes (309)
Fabiano Vieira (301)

Vieira has one of the most decorated careers in PBR history for a rider without a World Championship.

He has won 13 events, including four PBR Majors, and he has the PBR record for most 15/15 Bucking Battle victories at six.

The eight-time PBR World Finals qualifier ranks 14th in all-time career PBR earnings at $2.7 million, and he has earned the most among riders without a PBR World Championship. In fact, if you include Vieira’s massive $433,333 payday from The American in 2018, he has earned over $3.1 million.

Vieira was amidst arguably the best season of his career last season when he received crushing news just days before the 2020 PBR World Finals in Arlington, Texas: his COVID-19 test was positive, and he would be unable to compete inside AT&T Stadium, where no other bull rider has matched his success.

Could Vieira, the No. 2 bull rider in the world at the time of his positive test, have overtaken Jose Vitor Leme to win the 2020 PBR World Championship?

“It would have been more difficult for the guys to win if I was there,” Vieira said in January. “I was in a good position, and I always ride so good in that arena. It is always fantastic for me. I was so angry because I couldn’t go to the event. I felt 100%. I was going to the gym, working out, preparing for the Finals. I tested positive Tuesday and Thursday, and I couldn’t go to the Finals.”

 
Vieira was only 424.59 points behind Leme at the time, and a victory at the World Finals may have been enough for him to become the second-oldest PBR World Champion in history.

He was tied for second with 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco for the most qualified rides on the Unleash The Beast in 2020. He also did not compete at the three closed-to-the-public UTB events in Guthrie, Oklahoma, in April and May when he decided to return to Brazil with his family at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vieira set new career highs in riding percentage (49.21%) and 90-point rides (6) last season to post his best finish in the world standings since 2014. In 2014, Vieira entered the World Finals as the No. 1 bull rider in the world, only to see Alves go a perfect 6-for-6 to snatch the world title away from him.

Now, with the 300 club within his grasp, Vieira remains focused on finishing what he was unable to last season and winning a world title.

Vieira is 6-for-14 this season with three Top-5 finishes. He enters Glendale only 190 points behind world No. 1 Cooper Davis.

“I just say if I couldn’t go to the Finals last year, then God must have a plan for me,” Vieira said. “I am going again this year. My body feels good. I don’t feel sore, nothing. I feel healthy. I know I can ride this year for a world title. I still feel so good. Last year was so good for me. I did not get injured.

“I am still hungry for a world title.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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