The mouth-watering combination of Nick Strong, Wayne Scott and Jay Donawa proved to be a winning one in the Bank of Bermuda Foundation Triathlon at Albouy's Point.

For veteran runner Donawa it marked a memorable weekend with victory in the triathlon following his triumph in the opening race of the national cross-country series at Chaplin Bay on Saturday.Swimmer Nick Strong gave the elite trio a sound platform emerging from the 750-metre swim at Hamilton Habour in around fourth position.

He passed the baton on to this year's time-trial champion Wayne Scott who stormed the cycling stage, taking in Crow Lane and Queen Street, to give Donawa a vital lead heading into the 5km run.Under pressure from brothers Evan and Rianne Naude, the cross-country king managed to maintain his team's advantage to bring home the honours with a time of 56 minutes, 14 seconds.

"It was a very competitive race," he said.

"Last year my team won by a landslide as our swimmer had an extremely strong swim, but this time there was very little in it."The conditions were tricky for the cyclists but for the runners it was cool and the rain didn't effect us, the footing was pretty good.

"I was delighted we managed victory. Nick Strong and Wayne Scott were excellent and gave me a 100-yard lead. I just tried to hold off the Naude brothers who were close behind me.

"My legs still felt tired after Saturday's cross-country, but I'd enough strength left in me."Donawa suffered a serious calf injury in the summer and said he was relishing his running more than ever - an ominous admission for the rest of the cross-country fraternity.

"I'm getting myself back into the groove after six weeks out and my calf feels fine. I really enjoyed the weekend's competition and I hope to have an injury-free season."Elsewhere last year's Trunk Island Swim winner John Legge, top cyclist Kent Richardson and Evan Naude came second with a time of 56:16. Third place went to veteran ocean swimmer Mike Cash, cyclist Garth Thomson and Riaan Naude who recorded a time of 56:57.Bermuda Triathlon Association president Steve Petty believed the performance of cyclist Wayne Scott in wet conditions proved crucial in deciding the outcome.

"He (Scott) gave Jay Donawa a slight lead so it was always going to be difficult for anyone to catch him," he said.

"The rainy conditions impeded the cyclists a little and we probably lost around 25 percent of our spectators, but it was still a great event.

"It's been running since 1979 and I think we had more teams enter this year than in the previous ten. There weren't any no-shows and thankfully no accidents.

"It's a great marrying of swimmers, cyclists and runners and once again most of the big names turned out to compete. John Legge had been training for an Ironman event and cycled 100 miles the previous day, so that probably affected his race.

"We also had Chris Estwanik who took part in the USA 2004 Athens Olympic trials compete. He is married to Commonwealth Games runner Ashley Couper and he ran the quickest time."

In the female event young swimmer Morgan Hopkins, Dee McMullen on the bike and Kim McMullen in the run came first with a time of 1:02:40.The Bank of Bermuda Foundation's Individual Triathlon is at Albouy's Point next Sunday.