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Jose Vitor Leme PBR 2020 World Champion
Jose Vitor Leme climbed into a white golf cart in the bowels of AT&T Stadium just before 11 p.m. on Saturday night and grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket.
The newly minted World Champion’s iPhone would not stop buzzing as the golf cart hummed its way toward the ramp that exits the home of the Dallas Cowboys onto East Randol Mill Road. Leme let out a laugh and shook his head in disbelief. “This is crazy,” he said, looking down at his phone. “So many people are messaging me. I can’t keep up.” Leme turned his head toward the left and peered inside the arena, giving himself one more glance at where he had just ridden Woopaa for 95.75 points to clinch the 2020 PBR World Championship about an hourand-a-half earlier. “This journey is amazing,” Leme said. “This is my dream. My life. But I know there is still plenty of work to do.”
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Leme finally had a small moment to exhale and sit back in the aftermath of his title-clinching ride. The cool breeze amidst the Arlington, Texas, night was a welcome relief to the 24-year-old, who still had dirt on the brow of his forehead.
As the golf cart slowed to a stop just before Lot 4, where Leme’s white 2017 Ford F-350 was parked, Leme paused before hopping into his truck to make the quick 2.5-mile, five-minute drive back to the Hilton Arlington. He looked back at the stadium where he had finally achieved his lifelong dream. “You see, someday I want to be like J.B. (Mauney),” Leme said. “People love him. The fans. The 90-point rides. He is the best. There is still so much I want to accomplish. I have always said I wanted to be a World Champion, and if I got that accomplished, I know I want to be a two-time World Champion. But, really, I want to be the record-breaker. I want do so something impossible, something nobody has ever done. “I have that drive. I always want to do better and do the impossible because I know I can do it.”
The PBR will be releasing a documentary on Leme's successful 2020 season called "Chasing History with Jose Vitor Leme" in the coming weeks on its social media channels.
