Smells like Banana-time. Let’s peel this baby and get right to it. 

Einstein Racing’s Johanna Schmidt has said from day one that she is mildly interested in winning $1.37 worth of fruit at season’s end. It’s that sort of grit and determination that makes such high ambitions possible, and it’s what led her to races like the Boyne Marathon, the Battle at the Burg and the Crybaby Classic. The Crybaby stop is almost always a pivotal race for all riders as attention turns almost entirely to the Iceman Cometh. But for the Elite Women, it’s the first stop that truly shows fall fitness with just a few more weeks of preparation before the Big One.

While Peak2Peak will offer another glimpse of the field, the results from Crybaby are tough to escape. Aside from the notable absence of Susan Vigland, who always features at the Iceman and should make her big fall debut at Peak2Peak, the only rider in the Stephens-sphere is Schmidt. It’s certainly true that the flat and wide-open Iceman route will keep time gaps a bit smaller, the ten minute gap from Stephens to Schmidt is formidable. However, you can’t pull the plug on Schmidt in November, and in addition to Vigland, Hagerty boasts the ever-dangerous Lauri Brockmiller. On a good day, she put in a very tough and gutsy ride that might scare even the likes of Pendrel, Gould and Batty. These locals will be dangerous.

Here’s the full results from Crybaby:

Johanna Schmidt at 144 points

Amanda Ryan at 90 points
Amy Stauffer at 77 points
Susan Vigland at 76 points
Lauri Brockmiller at 66 points
Mackenzie Woodring at 55 points
Zoe Reeves at 42 points
Sue Stephens at 40 points
Julie Whalen at 38 points
Cady Chintis at 36 points
Kathy Everts at 35 points
Sarah Rice at 34 points
Janette Rho at 33 points
Elizabth So at 32 points
Bridgett Widrig at 32 points
Alicia Trevino at 31 points
Tiffany Bangma at 29 points
Kristen Rashberg at 28 points
Sarah Demerly at 27 points
Heather Spencer at 20 points
Kat Krikke at 19 points
Patricia Devost at 19 points
Samantha Brode at 19 points
Erin Vicary at 18 points
Stephanie Swan at 17 points
Jane Van Hof at 16 points
Lisa Markley at 16 points
Amelia Moore at 16 points
Laura Webb at 16 points
Melissa Ryba at 15 points

The key to Banana Points is to show up. Schmidt and Ryan have have made nearly every Banana race in 2012, and they’ve both steadily rocketed up the points list since surviving Boyne Marathon in July. From here on out, however, la creme de la crop won’t be missing a beat. Sue Stephens’s win launched her from near the bottom into the top ten, and if she can continue her winning ways, she could even overtake Amy Stauffer, whose amazing Mount Pleasant weekend kept her comfortable in the top five since June.

Next stop is the 1.0 Peak2Peak ahead of the Iceman Cometh’s 50 points-to-the-Top-50 points-ravaganza. It ain’t over yet, but the it’s looking pretty yellow for Einstein as we hit the final two races.