The most prestigious title in the history of Michigan cycling just came a little closer to its first-ever winner. 

The Cherry-Roubaix State Championship Road Race was always going to be hard. More climbing than anywhere in the Mitten, with the toughest cast of roadies under the sun, anyone with big Banana ambitions was on the line, including a few that had never heard of the competition but would probably be interested in fruit rewards nonetheless.

As noted, the race was awarded double points in the wake of the DQ-fest at Mount Pleasant earlier this summer. As far as kolo t.c. can confirm, no one was disqualified from this event. Some people might have wished for the early ride home, however. The Pro 1/2 field rode 85 miles with over 4,000 feet of climbing on the afternoon. The wind blew relentlessly, as is the custom in Leelanau County. These were not easy miles, to be clear.

Sven Baumann took the huge win ahead of Mac Brennan, snagging massive points. Instead of just the normal 20 points for a category 1.0 race, Baumann nabs a whopping (that’s right, whopping) 40 points for his road win, with Mac Brennan nearly as hefty in taking home 39. Perhaps the biggest gainers on the day, however, was current leader Mike Anderson. Anderson, who has skipped a number of prior mountain bike races in favor of road events, finished 9th place at the Roubaix. It’s a huge points swing for Anderson heading into the fall with a lead over the on-form and dangerous Jorden Wakeley.

Here’s the points break down from the Roubaix:

1 40 BAUMANN Sven Wolverine/ACFstores.com 3:42:05
2  39 BRENNAN Mac Bissell Pro Cycling 3:43:22
3  38 YORK Adam MCG p/b Trails-Edge.com 3:45:43
4  37 HOFFNER Scott Hometown Racing 3:45:43
5 36 RENKEMA Ben Athletix Global Bike 3:45:43
6 35 CARD Jonathan TEAM CARD 3:45:43
7 34 FISHER Chris TEAM PRIORITY HEALTH 3:45:44
8 33 WILLIAMS NATHAN BISSELL-ABG-NUVO 3:45:44
9 32 ANDERSON Mike Bissell ABG NUVO 3:45:44
10 31 BURKE Tom lathrup industries/giant bicycles 3:45:44
11 30VECCHIO Martin MCG p/b Trails Edge 3:45:44
12 29 GRAHAM DEREK BISSELL-ABG-NUVO 3:45:44
13 28 BEELS Marten Lamprey Systems 3:45:45
14 27 ANTONUK Alan TEAM PRIORITY HEALTH 3:45:45
15 26 GOETZ Brent Maumee Valley Wheelmen 3:45:45
16  25 TACCHELLA Mike East Hills Velo 3:45:46
17  24 KUYPER Bryan Leadout/West Michigan Bike 3:45:47
18  23GEROW Daniel WOLVERINE/ACFSTORES.COM 3:45:48
19  22 VERMEULEN Alexey BISSELL-ABG-NUVO 3:45:49
20 21 GOTTWALD Christopher TEAM PRIORITY HEALTH 3:45:53

On the heels of a great road race, Anderson piles up his lead over Wakeley with a slew of mountain bike races remaining to conclude the schedule. Alexey Vermuellen and Nate Williams also vaulted up the standings with double points, giving BISSELL an overwhelming presence around the top of the standings. Einstein Racing’s Jorden Wakeley, along with NCCS/Derailed’s John Cowan and Chad Wells, will be aiming to move up throughout the fall.

Here’s the new overall standings:

Mike Anderson at 89 points
Jorden Wakeley at 54 points
Nathaniel Williams at 52 points
Chad Wells at 44 points
John Cowan at 40 points
Sven Baumann at 40 points
Mac Brennan at 39 points
Adam York at 38 points
Alexey Vermuellen at 36 points
Ben Renkema at 36 points
John Card at 35 points
Chris Fisher at 34 points
Tom Burke at 31 points
Martin Vecchio at 30 points
Derek Graham at 29 points
Marten Beels at 28 points
Scott Hofner at 27 points
Alan Antonuk at 27 points
Brent Goetz at 26 points
Mike Tacchella at 25 points
Dan Korienek at 25 points
Brian Kuyper at 24 points
Daniel Gerow at 23 points
Christopher Gottwald at 21 points
Brian Matter at 19 points
Earl Hillaker at 19 points
Aaron McCreedy at 18
Ty Schmidt at 17 points
Shawn Adams at 17 points
Mike Simonson at 16 points
Ron Sanborn at 16 points
Steve Broglio at 16 points
Sven Baumann at 15 points
Mark Spore at 15 points
TJ Jenema at 15 points
Alexey Vermeullen at 14 points
Matthew DeGiacomo at 13 points
Jordan Diekema at 11

The next Top Banana Competition race is the Battle at the ‘Burg on September 8th at the Cannonsburg Ski Area. It’s going to be carrying 1.0 status with the full 20 points on offer for the winner of the Pro category for both men and women. Check the site tomorrow for the Women’s updated Banana competition.