The most successful riders in the Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race will be returning after absences to compete in the event on Friday.

Dominique Mayho, a six-times winner, and Nicole Mitchell, champion on four occasions, will be taking to the start line with the ambition of burnishing their records.

Of the two, Mitchell has been absent from the race for the longest, last crossing the line first in 2022. Now 42, it is fair to say that she is not returning with the expectation of winning the race for a fifth time.

“I’m not in the same form as I was a few years ago as I just don’t have the same time to train these days with my travel schedule,” Mitchell said.

“This is the longest stint I’ve been on island in the last 18 months, so it’s hard to maintain the consistency that’s needed to be competitive at that level.

“Luckily, it’s a short race, only 13 miles, so you don't necessarily need to have as much endurance.”

Mitchell’s main rival in the event looks to be Panzy Olander with Caitlin Conyers, the winner last year and a three-times champion opting not to take part this time around, but Mitchell’s main reason for returning was to keep the women’s race competitive.

“Unfortunately, our women’s field seems to have dwindled of late and I think there’s only four of us signed up right now,” she said.

“I want to showcase women in cycling as well and this is such an epic day in Bermuda to do that. It’s rare that we get to compete in front of such great crowds.

“I grew up around Whale Bay so coming from the West End, I know that when I get to Whale Bay, I will for sure hear my parents at the end of the road.

“I live on Burnt House Hill, so I’ll have a cheering squad as I go up the climb. I definitely appreciate the crowds and the people that turn out. By Heron Bay MarketPlace, it’s just a wall of noise and I’m going get the opportunity to enjoy it.”

Mayho has won the race a record six times and will again be one of the favourites in the absence of Australian expatriate Matt Boys, who has won the race for the past two but is away travelling in Europe.

The 32-year-old missed the 2045 and 2025 events but insists he has rediscovered his love of the sport in the past couple of months.

“Last year I barely raced at all and only did the President's Cup,” Mayho said.

“I just wasn’t that interested in racing for a while and then this year, this winter, I got remotivated to ride and I’ve been trying to race all the local races and obviously Sinclair Packwood is the biggest race of the season, so I want to give it a shot.

“It’s been challenging because I’ve found it a lot harder to get fit now. Before, if I didn’t ride for a while I could do four weeks of hard training and feel reasonably fit, but this year has been a struggle and although I’ve been working at it and I feel like I'm getting fit, it’s not there yet and is taking longer than I was hoping.

“This is the first time I’ve gone into a race in a very long time not expecting to win. I know I can but now it’s up in the air and my only chance of winning is a very tactical race.”

With Boys missing, Mayho’s most dangerous opponent could be his VT Construction team-mate Jackson Langley, who is competing as a junior but still has the talent to pick up the overall prize after finishing second last year.

Mayho has passed on plenty of his experience and has a close relationship with the younger rider.

“Jackson is my team’s best rider now, so we were trying to come up with a plan to beat Matt Boys but now that he’s not there, it’s changed everything,” Mayho said.

Jackson’s best chance of winning is breaking away and riding by himself but if the group is together and I’m still there, then I have a better chance of winning because I still have a better sprint.

“We’re going to race together but if he gets away, I'm not going to chase him. It’s weird as my whole life I've always wanted to win but now I don’t really have the urge. I know it sounds weird but I would rather him win. I don't want to put pressure on him because it’s very difficult if you’re not a sprinter to win that race.

“He has to be so much stronger than the other guys to actually get a gap and then be able to ride by himself because it’s such a short race. In the longer races, he’s a lot better than the others, so he can actually break away and it’s easier to win, but a dream scenario would be him winning and me second.”