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The Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race is like the Wild West of cycling.

In this bastardized form of the sport, anything can happen, and it usually does.

At 12 miles it's too long to be a time trial and two short to be a proper road race, but come Monday, some rider will come all guns blazing down Cedar Avenue to take the crown.

Greg Hopkins, a two-time former winner, says this year's event is going to be something special.

"We have a maximum of 60 riders and we have more than 60 riders who want to race this year. Cycle racing in Bermuda is at a high in the 26-years I've been here. Last season in the A category, which is the top category, we would have a normal turn out of five to six riders, but now we have 25 to 27 riders. There's a lot of guys who are in tremendous shape this year so the level of racing is high and the fact there's so many riders who are prepared to commit to making the race faster and more exciting this year, is going to make it very competitive and a strong race."

His prediction is the race won't be as tactical as it's been in the past.

"There's a lot of people out there who are prepared to throw down and see where the cards lie. It's not going to be a slow race with people positioning themselves for a bunch sprint. It's going to be a very, very aggressive race with a lot of riders prepared to make it that. There are going to be tactics because there are quite a number of teams on the island, but at the end of the day because it's such a shortened race, you can have all the tactics in your mind that you want but it's all over in 25 minutes."

Hopkins said spectators along the route should be prepared for a blur of bikes. "The level has definitely gone up. The speed of the racing and the intensity of the racing this year is nothing I've seen before."

The race has had four different winners in the past four years and the likelihood of it being five in five is pretty high.

Wayne Scott won in 2008 and the two-time champ will be one of the favourites on Monday, but Hopkins believes any one of six men could take the title.

"Traditionally the favourite is cursed. Invariably the favourite doesn't win. The only exception to that was when Kris Hedges used to come back because he was racing overseas, but it's very, very difficult to pick a winner."

Hopkins said: "You have to look at Graeme Miller because the guy's such an incredible talent. You'd be looking at him to win, but while he's been given tremendous respect by the local riders, people are not bowing down to him and prepared to have a go.

"If you were to pick somebody to be a favourite it would be him. You'd also be looking at Wayne Scott, Garth Thomson, Scott Williams, Arthur Pitcher - any one of them could win it. I could probably add a few more who would also be in with a chance. If it comes down to an out and out sprint at the end, that's what Graeme Miller was known for. He's an incredible finisher and an incredible sprinter, but I wouldn't put my money on it because it's a short race."

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