PUEBLO, Colo. – The 2022 Unleash The Beast series begins New Year’s Day at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis with the PBR Monster Energy Invitational (8 p.m. ET CBS Sports Network).

PBR.com will be counting down the final days leading up to the UTB season opener by looking back at the Top 5 bull riders at the conclusion of the 2021 season.

Today, we look at Joao Ricardo Vieira, who finished No. 4 in the 2021 PBR world standings.

No. 4 Joao Ricardo Vieira

World Championships: 0
Best World Standings Finish: 2 (2014, 2020)

2021 Premier Series (UTB) Stats
Rides: 39
Attempts: 82
Riding Percentage: 47.56%
Top Ride: 93 points on I’m Legit Too (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Average Ride Score: 87.73
Wins: 1 (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
15/15 Bucking Battle Victories: 1 (Deadwood, South Dakota)
Round Wins: 9
Top 5: 7
Top 10: 16
90-point Rides: 7

2021 Recap: Joao Ricardo Vieira finished in the Top 5 of the world standings for the third consecutive season and the seventh time in nine seasons.

The 37-year-old showed no signs of letting his age catch up to him either, and he did his best to contend for his first World Championship alongside the youthful Jose Vitor Leme, Kaique Pacheco and Cooper Davis.

Vieira posted a career-high seven 90-point rides, including a personal best of 93 points on I’m Legit Too, after beginning 2021 with only 21 90-point rides in his previous eight seasons.  

The 2013 Rookie of the Year averaged 87.73 points per ride, which helped him remain in title contention despite winning only one UTB event (Oklahoma City) in 2021. Last year was the first time that Vieira did not win multiple events in three seasons.

Vieira did win a PBR-record seventh career 15/15 Bucking Battle when he rode Top Shelf for 90.25 points in Deadwood, South Dakota.

He also joined an illustrious group of men by becoming the 19^th rider in PBR history to record 300 rides on the premier series, reaching the marquee number with his 87.25-point ride on Poncho Villa in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Itatinga, Brazil, native begins his 10^th season with 330 premier series rides.   

2022 Outlook: Vieira has been red-hot this offseason in Brazil, and he doesn’t look ready to let Father Time knock on his door just yet.

Vieira went 3-for-3 to win the PBR Brazil season-opener in Jaguariuna for 30 world points before going 3-for-5 for an eighth-place finish at the Circuito Rancho Primavera Finals.

“I am here and been so happy in Brazil,” Vieira told PBR.com. “I have been riding at some rodeos and enjoying my time here. I am training hard here to get ready.”

However, Vieira will not be competing at the season-opener in Indy. Vieira is out for Indianapolis as a precaution after a friend that he stayed with in Brazil tested positive for COVID-19.

“I am not going to Indianapolis, maybe I go to New York because last event (in Brazil) I stayed with a friend who test positive for COVID,” Vieira said on Monday. "I feel OK and I don’t have COVID. I took a test (Sunday night) and it was negative. I went to the doctor, and he says I need to stay alone for 10 days and I cannot go to Indianapolis.”

The shortened PBR Unleash The Beast season could benefit Vieira as he attempts to become the oldest World Champion in PBR history. Adriano Moraes was 36 years old when he won his last world title in 2006.

Or the condensed schedule could be harder on the veteran’s body – only time will tell.

It feels like it is only a matter of time before Father Time strikes, and it has been an ongoing topic of conversation with Vieira. However, he has ridden 48.26% of his bulls in the last three seasons, roughly 4% higher than his career average, while remaining relatively healthy. Vieira continues to be aging more like a fine wine than a battered veteran bull rider. 

Vieira is already one of the greatest riders in PBR history who has not won a world title, and he may indeed find himself in the gold buckle hunt for a fourth consecutive season if he can stay healthy during the gauntlet UTB schedule.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media