PUEBLO, Colo. – The first three-day Unleash The Beast event of the season is going to be crucial for a slew of riders this weekend at the PBR Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic, presented by Bass Pro Shops.
For the world title contenders, a three-day event win may prove pivotal in their pursuit of the 2022 World Championship, which will be crowned this coming May at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Sacramento will also have five riders making their season debuts on the Unleash The Beast.
However, at least seven 2021 World Finals qualifiers are also set to use their last guaranteed UTB exemptions before facing the reality of losing their full-time draw spot on the Unleash The Beast unless they crack the Top 25.
Every UTB event in 2022 guarantees the Top 25 healthy/active riders in the world standings a draw spot. The next draw spots for an event are filled by riders with guaranteed UTB exemptions, injury exemptions and Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event wins. If any draw spots remain following that criteria, alternate positions are filled via the world standings.
Heading into Sacramento, here is where things stand for riders on the bubble.
No. 59 Mauricio Moreira (29.5 points behind Top 25 / 20.5 points behind last alternate spot)
No. 42 Claudio Montanha Jr. (12.84 points behind Top 25 / 3.84 points behind last alternate spot)
No. 37 Jesse Petri (9 points behind Top 25 / tied for last alternate)
Moreira, Montanha, and Petri are the biggest riders in jeopardy at the start of the weekend. However, the gap between them and the Top 25 is still very slim. Two qualified rides this weekend – maybe even one for Montanha and Petri – could help position any of them back into the Top 25 or a prime alternate position.
There are two other things to keep in mind regarding the cutline.
Injuries and multiple illnesses through the first four events have made the cutline a jumbled mess so far. No. 10 Manoelito de Souza Jr. (six weeks) and No. 11 Austin Richardson (2-3 weeks) will miss some time, and No. 23 Brady Fielder is in Australia.
Therefore, being ranked in the Top 28 could lead to a rider getting a draw spot, which No. 26 Derek Kolbaba. The two riders certainly, though, could use some more points toward the world standings to gain some breathing room and get well inside the Top 25.
The Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour will also continue to impact the world standings, and there are two VT events on the schedule this weekend – the PBR Tractor Supply Co. Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday and Saturday and the Jacksonville Invitational on Saturday.
No. 32 Eli Vastbinder and Cody Teel could be in jeopardy of being cut from the UTB depending on how things shape up in the standings as well.
ALTERNATES IN SACRAMENTO
Four alternates are competing in Sacramento. All four will need at least one qualified ride in either Round 1 or Round 2 to advance to Championship Sunday.
No. 21 Cannon Cravens
No. 29 Brennon Eldred
No. 35 Ezekiel Mitchell
No. 37 Dawson BrantonNo. 41 Luciano de Castro
No. 49 Clayton Sellars
Cravens begins the weekend in control of his UTB destiny. He holds an 8.5-point lead on No. 26 Kolbaba and Outlaw, but much can change depending on what happens inside the Golden 1 Center. Cravens takes on Facetious (6-5, UTB) in Round 1 on Friday (10:30 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV).
Branton is set to make his Unleash The Beast debut after beginning the season 4-for-9 at lower-level PBR events. The 20-year-old from Prineville, Oregon, is ranked 37th in the world standings and is a two-time Challenge of Champions Tour bull riding champion in the Pacific Northwest.
Branton has drawn Buck Wild (7-3, UTB/METC) for Round 1. This past November, Buck Wild bucked Branton off in 5.99 seconds in Queen Creek, Arizona.
Sellars is also making his UTB debut after being a last minute replacement for Eduardo Aparecido (illness) on Friday morning.
VELOCITY TOUR INVITES: RODOLFO & OLESON
Cladson Rodolfo will also be making his UTB debut when he climbs into the chute aboard Let’s Play Clay (0-4, UTB). Rodolfo is one of two Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour invites. The 24-year-old earned his exemption courtesy of his 3-for-3 victory at the Cedar Park Chute Out.
Rodolfo left his hometown of Pilar do Sul, Brazil, six weeks ago. He is 5-for-9 on American soil at lower-level PBR events and has moved up to No. 39 in the world rankings.
Meanwhile, Brady Oleson is set to ride at his first UTB event since April 6, 2018, and will face Cali’s Dream (4-2, UTB). Oleson is in the draw after winning the Portland Classic VT event two weeks ago (2-for-2). Three years ago, the 25-year-old was dealing with a left shoulder injury that eventually needed reconstructive surgery when he had a cup of coffee on the Unleash The Beast. He now returns healthier and more seasoned than the rider he was then.
TRIPLETT HIGHLIGHTS NINE REMATCHES IN ROUND 1
Seven-time PBR World Finals qualifier Matt Triplett is set to make his season debut, marking a return to the UTB after failing to reach the World Finals last season.
The No. 1-ranked rider on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour needed only four events to surge back onto the UTB in 2022. Triplett is 6-for-10 on the Velocity Tour, and his 87.5-point ride on Trasher in Spokane, Washington, Saturday was enough for the VT victory.
Triplett has drawn Redginator (4-0, UTB) for Round 1 in Sacramento. Redginator is 7-0 at all levels, including a 6.2-second buckoff of Triplett last year inside the Golden 1 Center.
The matchup is one of nine rematches scheduled for Round 1.
Boudreaux Campbell vs. Zero Time (4.44 seconds last year in Louisville, Kentucky)
Dawson Branton vs. Buck Wild (5.99 seconds last November in Queen Creek, Arizona)
Dener Barbosa vs. Delbert Sr. (2.07 seconds last year in Sacramento)
Eduardo Aparecido vs. Jasper (4.01 seconds three years ago in Nampa, Idaho)
Joao Henrique Lucas vs. Cheii’s Swagger (85.75 points in Billings, Montana, last season)
Keyshawn Whitehorse vs. WSM’s Trail of Tears (3.07 seconds two years ago in Billings)
Matt Triplett vs. Redginator (6.2 seconds last year in Sacramento)
Mauricio Moreira vs. Cold Shot (90.75 points last year in Lincoln, Nebraska)
Stetson Lawrence vs. Bubba G (2.21 seconds two years ago at the METC).
TOP 25 RIDERS OUT OF COMPETITION
No. 10 Manoelito de Souza Jr. (left shoulder)
No. 11 Austin Richardson (sprained left MCL)
No. 23 Brady Fielder (in Australia)
*Also out of competition is 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco because of a left shoulder injury.
VIEIRA TAKES 21-POINT LEAD INTO SACRAMENTO
World leader Joao Ricardo Vieira holds a slim 21-point advantage on No. 2 Kyler Oliver heading into Friday night. Vieira has drawn Lights Out (0-5, UTB), and Oliver faces WSM’s Time in a Bottle (1-1). Time in a Bottle has given up three consecutive re-ride opportunities.
Vieira could be a sleeper to contend for the Round 1 win. Lights Out has been ridden in all five of his outs on the premier series, including for 89.75 points by Jose Vitor Leme last year in Anaheim, California. Ezekiel Mitchell rode Lights Out for 88 points at the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media