As the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) invaded the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO last weekend with 35 or the world’s best bull riders and the rankest bulls promising edge-of-your-seat bull riding, one of those riders eyeing the top of the Can-Am cage hoisting the championship buckle Sunday afternoon was Lucas Divino.
The 26-year-old Brazilian rising star bull rider has been battling with a broken riding hand rather than waiting on the sidelines for it to heal.
The saying that winning and money help the bull riders overcome the pain they encounter each day is absolutely true for riders like Divino, who despite the injury strung together a perfect 4-for-4 weekend over the two-day event. As PBR on CBS play-by-play man, Craig Hummer might say, “Divino was divine.”
Divino has been a rising star who has taken time to adapt to the ranker bulls on the premier series. He has been slowly showing his talent as a rider, progressively notching rides, and not shying away from some of the rankest bulls at the sport’s top tour.
The road to Lucas’ victory this past weekend was full of great rides where the cowboy with the broken bone in his riding hand blocked out the pain 8-seconds at a time. It may not have been a mirror-smooth road, but Divino pushed forward and topped the scoreboard at the end of the two-days of punishing bull riding that will knock a number of bull riders out of competition for weeks, maybe months.
The list of wounded warriors is topped by Jose Vitor Leme, who was off to one of the best starts in PBR history riding at nearly 80 percent but fractured his ribs in Kansas City and is expected to be out up to six weeks. On his heels, world No. 2 Jess Lockwood hung a spur on his bulls after his ride on Sunday afternoon, got viciously yanked and severely ripped his hamstring. Lockwood will need surgery and is expected to be out six months. Those unfortunate injuries pry the door open for riders like Divino to make a charge for this year’s world championship while the cowboys at the top heal.
Check out Lucas’ Road to Victory from the Caterpillar Classic below:
All of the rides above show just how Divino gritted it out to earn the victory inside the Sprint Center last Sunday afternoon for his first career Unleash The Beast event title. It will be interesting to see what Divino can do once his hand is back to full health; if he is able to ride this wave of momentum going forward, he will gain ground on the injured cowboys at the top and be a contender to watch.
Fans who want to relive the Caterpillar Classic that was full of ups and downs and rips and tears and had an awesome ending. That is possible on PBR digital network RidePass in the replay section on RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile application.
