Mark Fagg – My First Baw Baw Experience

By Mark Fagg – @MarkFagg First off, this being my first blog I feel I should introduce myself. My name is Mark Fagg, I?ve been racing road cycles since the start of 2012 after racing motocross for 12 years. I?m very new to this game and I?m the first to admit I have a lot to learn, so I though I would share some of my experiences in the new Victorian Road Series this year, and hopefully some National Road Series races in the near future.   This year I?m racing for the SCAR Racing Development Team, part of the NRS team African Wildlife Safaris. My goal for the year is to make it be competitive in the new VRS series and to make it onto the NRS team and race some NRS rounds.   Ever since I started racing at the beginning of last year, Baw Baw has been on the radar as one of the ?must do? races for me. 103km, how hard could it be? That question, and a few others, would all be answered for me on a sunny Sunday morning in April.   Being an almost 80kg guy who doesn?t have much climbing experience I knew I was going to be in for a rude shock, but the only way to get better at something is to give it a go, right?   I?d heard stories from guys who?d previously competed in the race of freezing temperatures, day-long rain and snow at the top of the mountain. I, and every other rider, was praying for some kind weather and much to my delight, that?s what we got.   As I sat on the start line, all sorts of thoughts were running though my head ? What will the pace be like? Will I be able to stay with the bunch on the climbs? I had other African Wildlife Safari guys who would be in contention for a good result who I had to help out if I was able, so my two main goals for the day were to help the team and then to finish the race.   10:00am came and off we went. The first 2.5km were under control as we rolled out of Warragul and as soon as the flag dropped the pace was well and truly on. The first 15km were relatively flat and some attacks went off the front early, all however were brought back pretty fast.   We had been warned about only riding on the left hand side of the road before the start of the race and already, there were riders all over the road. Behind us lots of horn action from the follow car meant one thing – the commissaire was quickly loosing patience with the bunch, riders were almost taking up both lanes and it was becoming a little dangerous.   Not long after that, we were stopped in our tracks halfway up the first small climb of the day. After a stern talking to, we were sent on our way again with the pace once again set high. As we started to hit the first of the smaller, steeper pinches we began losing riders off the back of the peloton, guys were dropping wheels everywhere, I knew it was time to move up in the bunch.   The fast pace continued and as we hit the last climb before the feed zone I was starting to lose contact. Most racers will know this feeling, it?s the worst. Cresting the hill at Neerim Junction, I could see the main bunch about 400 meters in front of where I was. I grabbed a bottle from my girlfriend Holly in the feed zone and started the task of trying to get back in contact.   The steep decent after Neerim Junction was made a little hairy as it had just started spitting rain. Once I made it down, another rider from Seight Test Team who had lost contact as well was only a few meters back from me so we worked together and made it back to the bunch with some hard pedaling.   As soon as we made contact again I could see our team was on the front and I knew I had to do what ever I could to help. Once I worked my way around the group I jumped in 2^nd wheel behind Darcey to catch my breath a little and then moved around to be on the front as we worked our way through the valley and hit the climb at Vesper.   I knew I didn?t have much left in my legs so I worked for as long as I could and then began fading back through the pack. Not long after that I lost contact all together and I knew my race was done.   Other riders were being shelled out the back as well and I ended up joining around 10 other riders for the final part of the race coming up to the climb at Baw Baw. The first six kilometers were ok ? you knew you were going up hill but it wasn?t too steep ? but it was the final six I was worried about. I knew I had already burned up most of my energy in the race to this point so the last, and hardest part wasn?t going to be pretty. Then I went for a drink and realized I?d also run out of water. Great.   As we rounded a bend 6km from the finish, the road headed sky ward, and I mean sky ward ? straight up. With 96km of racing in the legs already, it was like hitting a wall. The pace slowed considerably, I remember looking down at one point and seeing my speed on my Garmin at 7km/h.   The week before, a guy from Geelong telling me ?Just wait till you hit the last part of the climb, you?ll feel like the worst rider in the world?.   At this point, that was exactly how I felt. That last 6km seemed to go forever but finally I saw the red ?1km to go? signs by the road side. Before I knew it, the road began to flatten out a little much to my relief and I could see the finish.   I crossed the finish line in 48^th place, 26:38 down on winner Matt Clarke of Charter Mason Drapac Development Team. Not a great day for me but our climber Trent Morey came away in 7^th place, so I was happy I was able to help him out a little bit.   Baw Baw was the hardest race I?ve done so far but after the pain in my legs subsided I realized I really did enjoy it and I?m looking forward to giving it another crack next year for hopefully a much better result.