UNCASVILLE, Conn. (October 3, 2010) - Austin Meier said he can’t worry about what anyone behind him is doing.
But the top-ranked bull rider in the world standings admitted Sunday, “I know I separated myself. When you have that opportunity, you have to make every effort you can to do that, and I did it tonight.”
It was a tough weekend for J.B. Mauney and Renato Nunes – ranked second and third in the world, respectively – who both covered one bull apiece, while Meier covered 3-of-4 to finish third in the average at the Mohegan Sun Invitational.
Meier went from leading Mauney by only 64 points to separating himself by 706.75 points. His lead over Nunes, who until a month ago had held the No. 1 position for six straight events, is now 1,309.5 points.
Between now and the start of the PBR World Finals, there are only 1,200 potential points available – 900 next week in Columbus, Ohio, and another 300 at the last Final Five Showdown in New York on Oct. 15.
Mauney is the only rider who could catch Meier before the World Finals in Las Vegas. Listen to the full post-event interview with Meier here.
“In my position, I can’t afford to look behind me,” Meier said. “When you’re not in the lead, you’re chasing the guys that are ahead of you.
“When you’re in the lead, there’s no reason to look back. Focus on what’s ahead of you, which is the bulls you get on. Don’t give a care about the guys behind you, (because) they’re chasing you, and they’re looking at you, so don’t look back them.”
Aside from Mauney and Nunes losing ground, so too did everyone else in the Top 10.
However, Valdiron de Oliveira finished sixth in the average to nearly keep pace, while Ryan McConnel fell from 6th to 7th in the world standings on Saturday night, only move up to fifth after finishing fourth in the average.
Mike Lee is sixth in the world standings, and Robson Palermo is back in seventh, while McKennon Wimberly moved ahead of both Guilherme Marchi and Travis Briscoe. Wimberly is now eighth in the world standings.
The top half of the standings were largely unaffected by Saturday’s bonus round, in which the Top 5 riders all bucked off their bulls.
“No matter where I end up, I can’t hang my head,” said Meier, who wasn’t interested in the precise number of points in which he now leads by in the standings. “I did my best this weekend.”
The top riders convene next weekend in Columbus for the Cooper Tires Invitational, in which the Cooper Tires team – Palermo and Skeeter Kingsolver – will don pink uniforms in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
