Austin Gamblers take preseason trip to Brazil ahead of 2024 PBR Teams opener
For the second season in a row, the stacked squad headed to Brazil to compete in Iron Cowboy Americana and do some preseason training.
For the second year in a row, the Austin Gamblers chose Brazil as their destination for the preseason of the 2024 edition of the PBR Team Series, which begins in July. The team's competitors participated in the PBR Iron Cowboy Americana, held this past weekend during the 36th Festa do Peão de Americana.
In addition to preparing the athletes for participation in one of the most difficult PBR tours and bringing them together, the presence of the Austin Gamblers in Brazil also aims to bring the team closer to Brazilian fans, who are an important fanbase for the team headquartered in Austin, Texas.
The main names in the cast, José Vitor Leme, Kaique Pacheco and Dalton Kasel, who came to Brazil for the first time, did not compete in the PBR Iron Cowboy Americana as they are recovering from injuries. However, they were present at the event, welcoming fans and supporting teammates Lucas Divino, Ramon de Lima, Ezekiel Mitchell, and the recently acquired Paulo Henrique de Oliveira, who participated in the competition.
During the week, before the competition at the Festa do Peão de Americana arena, the athletes met with coach Michael Gaffney, CEO JJ Gottsch and other members of the technical committee at the farm of three-time World Champion Adriano Moraes, who is the assistant coach and director of operations in Brazil.
The meeting served to generate greater rapport between the riders and prepare the squad physically and mentally, in addition to defining strategies for the new season. The competition starts in Oklahoma City on July 12-14; this year, there are 12 events before the PBR Teams Championship in October.
All members of the Austin Gamblers squad who participated in the PBR Iron Cowboy Americana performed well and reached the decisive stage of the competition on Sunday. Rookie Paulo Henrique de Oliveira and veteran Lucas Divino finished among the eight best in the event, being eliminated in the second round on Sunday. Ramon de Lima and Texan Ezekiel Mitchel were eliminated in the first round on Sunday but finished among the Top 20.
On Sunday, Gaffney, Moraes and Gottsch announced the signing of Guilherme Valleiras as the team's new reinforcement. The 22-year-old athlete, who already has experience in the United States and competed for the Arizona Ridge Riders last season, won one of the Iron Cowboy rounds in Americana and finished in ninth place in the event.
Another highlight of the team was the participation of Dalton Kasel in the Love Challenge held on Saturday night in benefit of the Hospital de Amor de Barretos. Despite not having participated in the Iron Cowboy, Kasel agreed to challenge the bull King of the North, one of the most difficult in the Cia. Tércio Miranda's herd, in an action that raised around 1 million reais in donations to the hospital. This amount includes the auction of a Gamblers shirt signed by the athletes and sold for R$50,000 and the donation of the same amount in the name of the team, made by Gottsch.
Also during the weekend, Leme participated in Gol Solidário, a charity soccer match promoted by former player Elano in Limeira-SP, to raise funds for various entities and residents affected by the floods in Rio Grande from the South. The match featured several national football stars such as Denilson, Falcão, Luís Fabiano, Zé Roberto, Marcos Assunção, and veteran Rivelino, among others. Leme played in the first half of the match, participating in his team's second goal.
Considered one of the favorite teams since the creation of the PBR Team Series, the Austin Gamblers won the regular season of the two seasons held so far but did not win the season title. Even so, the team holds the record for most matches won in the two seasons played and is also the team that won the most prize money.
For the new season, bets on the team are once again heavy, especially due to the arrival of Kaique Pacheco, who was the second athlete to be chosen in the inaugural draft in 2022, after only José Vitor Leme. The 2018 World Champion came to the Texan team after a trade with the Oklahoma Wildcatters, who had just acquired him from the Nashville Stampede, where the São Paulo native played in the first two seasons of the League.
Photo courtesy of PBR Brazil