Melancon and Lino Tie for Event Win at Lexington Classic

By: Kacie Albert

LEXINGTON, Ky. – In front of a record-setting crowd at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, Cole Melancon (Paris, Texas) and Lindomar Lino (Anapolis, Brazil) tied for the event win at the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Lexington Classic.

For Melancon, he began his march to victory after he split second-place in Round 1 courtesy of his 86-point ride aboard Kentucky Gambler (CBT 4).

The Texan then remained perfect inside the home of the Kentucky Wildcats when he was again runner-up in the championship round. In his final out, he reached the 8 aboard Whacked Out (GEM Bucking Bulls) for 89 points.

Melancon leaves Lexington with a check for $5,550 in addition to 31.5 world points.

Brazilian sensation Lino’s path to the top of the podium started with an 85-point ride on Shishkabob (Barrett Bucking Stock) in the opening round of competition.

He then brought the raucous crowd to its feet when he punctuated his flawless performance with a monstrous, championship round-winning, 90-point ride on Sledge Hammer (Golden Boys/Knapp).

Lino’s golden performance propelled him to a $5,400 payday, and netted him 32 world points.

Both men also earned a berth to the elite Unleash The Beast. They will appear on the sport’s top tour in Los Angeles for the Iron Cowboy, presented by Ariat, Major event at STAPLES Center on February 7-8.

Junio Patrik Souza (Sonora, Brazil) was third, earning $2,700 and 13 world points.

Also going 2-for-2, he rode Kiki (Golden Boys/Knapp) for 83.5 points in Round 1, followed by an 86.5-point effort aboard Final Solution (Barrett Bucking Stock) in the championship round.

Fourth was Paulo Ferreira Lima (Bezerros, Brazil).

As the final rider to be perfect inside Rupp Arena, his qualified rides were recorded aboard Bout Time (UTC/Sellers Bucking Stock) for 83 points in Round 1, and Party Time (Kelley Trucking/Norris Dalton) for 86 points in the championship round.

His 2-for-2 outing earned him $1,700 and 8 world points.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Alex Cardozo (Inadaiatuba, Brazil) who collected $2,040 and 11 world points.

His event was headlined by a Round 1 win, earned courtesy of his 88-point trip on Red Line (GEM Bucking Bulls).

In the bull pen, Show Me Homie (TCB Ranch/K-C Bucking Bulls) and Kickstart My Heart (Richardson Land & Cattle Co.) tied for the high-marked bull of the event after each bovine athlete was marked 44.5 points. Both bucking in the championship round, Show Me Homie dispatched Jesse Petri (Palestine, Texas) in 3.12 seconds, while Kickstart My Heart bested Mauricio Gula Moreira (Gaviao Paixoto, Brazil) in a swift 2.73 seconds.

The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Lexington Classic was also a stop on the 2020 Million Dollar Bull Team Challenge.

GEM Bucking Bulls won the performance with 282 points courtesy of the trips notched by Redline, Bring the Bling and Whacked Out.

The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour next travels to both Knoxville, Tennessee, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, February 1. Action gets underway in both Tennessee and Michigan at 7:00 p.m. EST.

PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
Lexington Classic
Rupp Arena – Lexington, Kentucky
(Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Cole Melancon, 86-89-175.00-31.5 Points.
(tie). Lindomar Lino, 85-90-175.00-32 Points.
3. Junio Patrik Souza, 83.5-86.5-170.00-13 Points.
4. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 83-86-169.00-8 Points.
5. Alex Cardozo, 88-0-88.00-11 Points.
6. Nathan Burtenshaw, 86-0-86.00-4.16 Points.
(tie). Marcus Mast, 86-0-86.00-4.16 Points.
(tie). Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 86-0-86.00-4.16 Points.
9. Amadeu Campos Silva, 85.5-0-85.50-0.66 Points.
(tie). Joao Henrique Lucas, 85.5-0-85.50-0.66 Points.
(tie). Bruno Scaranello, 85.5-0-85.50-0.66 Points.
12. Mauricio Gula Moreira, 83.5-0-83.50
(tie). Jesse Petri, 83.5-0-83.50
14. Bryan Titman, 83-0-83.00
(tie). Tyler Harr, 83-0-83.00
Devon Weaver, 0-0-0.00
Romildo Rodrigues, 0-0-0.00
Garrion Hull, 0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0.00
Triston Dean, 0-0-0.00
Cody Dollins, 0-0-0.00
Keith Hall, 0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0.00
Juan Carlos Contreras, 0-0-0.00
Eli Miller, 0-0-0.00
Eli Byler, 0-0-0.00
TY Wainwright, 0-0-0.00
Francisco Morales, 0-0-0.00
Carlos Garcia, 0-0-0.00
Lucas Fideles Souza, 0-0-0.00
Adriano Salgado, 0-0-0.00
Joao Augusto Cezere, 0-0-0.00
Flavio de Souza Viana, 0-0-0.00
Ouncie Mitchell, 0-0-0.00
Dustin Ratchford, 0-0-0.00
Colt Galvan, 0-0-0.00
Ryan Essenpreis, 0-0-0.00
Elijah Lankford, 0-0-0.00
Chase Hamlin, 0-0-0.00

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