What to Watch For: No. 2 John Crimber ready to ride in Salt Lake City
Having missed a few weeks due to injury, the industry’s “next big thing” is back atop the chutes.
By James Youness
FORT WORTH, Texas – For as good as No. 2 John Crimber is at bull riding, we’re beginning to think the youngster has some sort of time travelling powers or something the way he continues to manipulate minutes us mere mortals watch crawl by.
Storming onto the scene during a rookie-ridden 2024 campaign, he didn’t waste any time during his age 18 season, letting the pack know he was here to compete.
After claiming the 2024 PBR Teams MVP honors as the summer series’ most productive rider just a mere 14 months into his professional career, we watched on as he regularly carried the load for his Florida Freedom squad while riding for his father turned coach, Paulo Crimber.
And after capturing two of the first three Unleash The Beast events of the 2025 premier series campaign, he reminded us that he’s not only young, fresh and motivated as ever – but easily already one of the tour’s most talented riders on a weekly basis.
So, naturally, fans around the world were a bit disappointed when it was announced that the kid would likely miss four to five weeks with some complications involving his riding hand.
Enter the time manipulation theory once more, as Crimber is preparing to dance with Whip Friday night in Salt Lake City just THREE WEEKS after sustaining the injury in Houston, Texas.
Sure, it helps being young. And we wouldn’t doubt his quest to claim the 2025 PBR World Championship honors likely sped up his recovery.
Which says a few things about both his youthful status and willingness to get back at it after spending a few weeks at home.
Having paced the tour in pole position for the first nine weeks of UTB action, Crimber eventually lost his perch to current No. 1 Brady Fielder after seeing the Australian string together his red-hot, nine-out ride streak as he blazed his way through the January slate.
Entering Delta Center this weekend just 71.5 points back of Fielder, the skilled 19-year-old has to feel justified about taking some time off knowing he needs just one productive showcase to reclaim his top spot.
But that’s all in the past now, as the cowboy looks to resume his campaign in high-flying fashion Friday night as the second-to-last rider set to give it a go (before the sixth iteration of Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, takes the stage for the final 12 outs of Round 1.)
Officially 15-for-25 on the season, Crimber brings the fourth-most qualified rides on tour to Salt Lake City despite missing the past two weekends of competition.
Riding exactly 60% of his bulls this year, he remains ranked fourth in ride efficiency amongst cowboys who have attempted at least 10 bulls, which really paints some perspective on how dominant he was during his first nine appearances.
And how excited fans will be THIS WEEKEND when the young phenom returns to the chutes!
Remaining tied with Lucas Divino and Brady Fielder with a tour-topping two wins on the season after securing victories in two of the circuit’s first three events (including wins in Tucson, Arizona, and St. Louis, Missouri), Crimber has been the definition of explosive during his sophomore stint.
STILL leading the premier series pack with four 90-pointers (with both Dalton Kasel and Luciano De Castro flanking him with three each, respectively), there’s just something about the way he gets that foot spurring while staying in control that continues to earn him spicy marks.
Trailing only Kasel on the overall round win scoreboard, who’s got five to Crimber’s four, he’s primed to bring some electricity back to Delta Center as he readies to compete for the first time this month.
Having bested a few practice bulls this week leading into PBR Salt Lake City, he’s likely feeling confident about his odds of returning with a BANG as long as his hand is truly healed up.
“Good enough” is what keeps cowboys in the danger zone, as their competitive drives can often lead them back to the chutes a week or two earlier than suggested.
But most guys aren’t 19 anymore. And NONE of them are John Crimber.
So, we’ll let this outlier exist as a spectacle while we keep a keen eye on the kid as he looks to chase down Fielder and further separate himself from Castro, Divino, Kasel and company.
As one of the more entertaining yet easy-going guys in the locker room, his energy alone will be a boost to fans, tour personnel and beyond. And while his co-workers will likely be glad to have his smiles and antics back in the arena, they understand their odds of success on the weekend are directly diminished.
We aren’t saying Fielder and Castro wouldn’t have ridden those bulls over the course of the past two events.
We’re just saying Crimber would’ve likely been challenging said respective event champs in at least one of the two instances, as the fountain of youth has been involved in a majority of championship rounds this season.
Thankfully, we won’t need to do any imaginary forecasting regarding his return – Nor do we need to dwell on what could’ve been for the Florida Freedom standout the past two weekends.
Because he’s BACK and READY TO RIDE Friday night!
This weekend’s PBR Salt Lake City in Salt Lake City, Utah, is set to begin Friday, Feb. 7 at 6:45 p.m. MT as the best bull riders in the world prepare to put on a show inside Delta Center.
Competition will conclude Saturday, Feb. 8 at 6:45 p.m. PT with Round 2, followed by the short go, as riders look to improve their respective ranks during the mid-season showcase.
