PUEBLO, Colo. – While the 2024 Unleash The Beast season has undoubtedly been one for the books, full of epic rookie performances from the likes of No. 1 Cassio Dias, No. 2 John Crimber and company, the premier series pack has also endured its fair share of injuries as the world’s top bull riders continue to go head-to-head with the rankest bulls in the business.

Battling a groin injury for what seems like the entire 2024 slate, two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme is one of the A-list cowboys who has struggled to be available this year.

In limited action, he’s a stellar 9-for-14 (64.29%) on the season, but only one of the scores was a 90-pointer.

When he was around, it just didn’t seem like the same “Champ” figure we’ve been so used to watching.

And while we’ve known he hasn’t been at 100% at any point this season, we all still had it in the back of our minds that the All-World talent was likely just saving some juice for the late-season stretch.

Only to put on the grandest of comeback shows at the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast!

Well, that narrative is now out the window.

Ranked No. 26 in the world, as he’s competed in just six events this season, the veteran made the difficult choice to hang it up for the remainder of the campaign and focus his recovery efforts on the quickly approaching PBR Camping World Team Series season.

Taking to Instagram Tuesday evening to make the announcement, the talented Brazilian shared the following message, translated via the social media platform:

“The past few months have been one of great battles where I battled an injury that left me out of much of the Unleash The Beast season, the PBR Individual World Championship.

Due to this, I have had to make the hardest decision of my professional career so far and I would like to officially announce that I will not be competing in any of the remaining five events of this UTB season. Consequently, I will also not be competing in the PBR World Finals in May, being out of what would be my eighth-straight World Final.

This was a necessary decision, as I've faced constant pain with every bull I ride, and to insist on competing besides not getting me the results I've always sought, can aggravate this injury even further and compromise my future.

I will continue my daily efforts to recover from this injury and hope to return to competing soon, chasing my next goal which is to help the Austin Gamblers win the 2024 PBR Team Series.

I want to thank in advance for the fundamental support of my family, my friends, my sponsors, my team and especially the fans who are with me every moment.

Good luck to my friends who will continue in this PBR World Title contention and I’m sure this will be one of the best seasons ever.

I’ll be back soon. God bless you all!”

Leading the Austin Gamblers to two-consecutive regular season titles en route to securing first-round byes at the 2022 and 2023 PBR Teams Championships inside the luxurious T-Mobile Arena, Leme has been a staple for the electric 5-on-5 series.

Selected No. 1 overall some three summers ago by Head Coach Michael Gaffney and General Manager J.J. Gottsch, the 27-year-old has only exceeded expectations, capturing the first two PBR Teams MVP awards in stunning fashion.

Turning in a runner-up effort during the 2023 UTB season, Leme will have to wait until the 2025 campaign for his next shot at joining fellow greats Silvano Alves and Adriano Moraes in the exclusive three-time winner’s club.

For now, he’ll rest up and prepare for training camp with his green and black squad, who will very much need him to be in tip-top condition, as the squad and each of the other seven inaugural PBR Teams organizations prepare to lend talent to the league’s pair of new teams in the Oklahoma Wildcatters and the New York Mavericks.

RELATED: Oklahoma City and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to host 2024 PBR Teams Expansion Draft on April 10

With each of the eight existing teams able to protect three riders from being eligible in next week’s Expansion Draft, the Gamblers opted into protecting Leme, No. 3 Dalton Kasel and No. 20 Cort McFadden, who’s shown some strides throughout his rookie season on the premier series.

If they are to join the Nashville Stampede (2022 World Champions) and the Texas Rattlers (2023 World Champions) in capturing the world's largest gold buckle, it'll be behind on the wings of Leme, who's officially looking forward to his third season of camaraderie-driven action.

Bull riding fans can stay tuned to PBR.com and PBR social media channels (@PBR) as we continue to provide pack updates, injury statuses and beyond leading into the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast!

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media