Jose Vitor Leme came into St Louis as the world ranked No. 2 bull rider, but the winds of change blew heavy during the event, and Leme took the world No. 1 spot after the 15/15 Bucking Battle and extended it in winning the U.S. Border Patrol Invitational.
Leme once called a soccer field home in his native Brazil, but he has become a force to be reckoned with since landing Las Vegas three years ago and he has not looked back since that day.
Jose is known for putting on bull riding clinics and inside the Enterprise Center in St Louis was the site of his most recent one. After finishing second the last two seasons, it appears that from his performance early in the 2020 season he is doing all he can to ensure he will not come up short this year in the world title race.
After a perfect four-for-four weekend in St Louis, Leme has now captured the event title in three events this season. He is focused on the road ahead of him and not what the closest contenders behind him – particularly world No. 2 Jess Lockwood – are doing in his rearview mirror.
Leme’s rides this weekend may not be full of the highest-scoring rides he can put up, but they show he is laser-focused on staking his claim for the world championship this year.
Check out Jose’s road to victory in the U.S. Border Patrol Invitational below:
The rides show the calm, flawless form that made Jose such a contender last year, and in getting on practice bulls to improve his riding ability throughout the week, Jose may just leave Kansas City with his foot firmly on the gas pedal leaving other contenders only seeing his dust as he pulls away.
Will this victory in St Louis give Leme momentum to extend his 115 world-point lead even further in Kansas City? After a perfect performance this past weekend, and his overall torrid 80 percent riding percentage, it’s hard to not consider Jose a favorite heading into the Kansas City event.
Of course, on any given Sunday, any one of the 35 bull riders on the premier series can win an event. But, Leme is riding at a level that may wind up the best in PBR history if he continues. Right now, Jose is unstoppable and looking to add a fourth event win. It will make it a must-watch event for fans of all of the cowboys of the PBR.
PBR will broadcast coverage of the Caterpillar Classic on the digital network RidePass with coverage of round one action starting at 7:45 PM ET Saturday, February 29 and round two and championship round coverage starting at 2:45 PM ET Sunday, March 1. Fans will not want to miss any of the action in Kansas City.
CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network will also broadcast coverage of the Kansas City 15/15 Bucking Battle with the broadcast starting at 12:00 PM ET on March 1 and Championship round coverage starting later that evening on CBS Sports Network at 8:00 PM ET. If the Caterpillar Classic is anything like the U.S. Border Patrol Invitational…it will be must-watch television
