IT'S anyone's guess who will win the rescheduled Bank of Bermuda Foundation team triathlon this Sunday after a spanner was thrown into the works by last weekend's brush with Tropical Storm Kyle.

The best laid plans were knocked sideways by gusting winds and rain, which were deemed too dangerous to allow the junior and adult team event to go ahead.

It was an 11th hour decision, made at five in the morning by the event organisers. As a consequence this weekend's Bank of Bermuda Foundation individual triathlon over the same course will now double up as both an individual and team event.

Some of the teams put together for last weekend have been scrambling to reconfigure to accommodate team members who had intended to enter the individual event as well. The only way an individual can compete in both events now is by doing the swim as part of a team and then continuing on as an individual competitor in the cycling and running disciplines.

Neil de Ste. Croix, one of the organisers, will be doing just that on Sunday. It was always his intention to compete in the team event and then the individual event the following weekend. Now, with the races combined, he has repositioned himself as swimmer for his team.

"I'll do the swim for the team and then carry on and do the individual triathlon," he said. "It's going to be hard on the team because they have me as their swimmer," he joked, pointing out that swimming is the weakest of his triathlon disciplines.

The decision to postpone last weekend's event may have caused some teams to collapse because team members have prior commitments or are due to compete in other sporting meets taking place this weekend.

It is something de Ste. Croix recognises as a potential hardship for some, but he is confident that most teams will have found a way to reorganise in time for the 8.30 a.m. start at Albouy's Point on Sunday. A few years ago a similar situation occurred, so for many it is not a new experience, he noted.

During the past few days the Bermuda Triathlon Association has been assisting teams and individuals affected by the postponement to build new three-person squads.

Final team selections were being ratified yesterday as the Mid-Ocean News went to press, but it appeared that the ultimate dream team from last week, comprising top teenage swimmer Eleanor Gardner, national time trial champion cyclist Garth Thompson and May 24 Half Marathon champion Chris Estwanik was still together.

Last year's winning team featured swimmer Nick Strong, cyclist Wayne Scott and runner Jay Donawa, who put together splits of 11.11 for the 750-metre swim, 28.54 for the 12-mile cycle ride and 16.09 for the 5K run.

Strong and Scott are back again, this time with May 24 runner-up Lamont Marshall as their runner and look likely to offer a formidable challenge.

In the women's team event it was believed that the powerful team of Olympian Flora Duffy, Karen Smith and Karen Bordage had also survived the event date switch.

Triathlon race director Louise Wakefield said the use of chip timing tags means it should not pose a problem having a mixture of competitors competing as team and individuals at the same time.

She said the decision to call off last Sunday's race was decided around five in the morning and by 6 a.m. competitors were receiving the news through a dedicated event hotline. The combination of strong winds, rain and wet roads meant postponing the team event in the interests of safety for the 78 adult and 33 junior teams that had been expected to show up.

As a result, this Sunday's double-event will feature more than 100 teams and individuals in the adults' event and more than 30 in the juniors.

For the adults there is a 750-metre swim in the harbour from Albouy's Point, followed by a five loops of Hamilton on cycles to complete 12 miles, and then running up and down Front Street three times to cover the 5K (3.1 miles) run.

"Everyone is excited about the race. Everyone is looking forward to it and the weather forecast is looking reasonable," said Wakefield.