Bermuda's sportsmen and sportswomen will likely not set these Commonwealth Games alight when action gets underway in earnest tomorrow.

Indeed, two -- squash players Nick Kyme and Tommy Sherratt -- had already bowed out of their main event 24 hours before tonight's official opening ceremony.

There are no Nicky Saunders (gold at Auckland in 1990) nor Brian Wellmans (bronze at Victoria in 1994) on which to pin Bermuda's medal hopes.

And with sailing not among the 15 invited sports, the likes of Peter Bromby and Paula Lewin will have to wait until next year's Pan-Ams in Winnipeg to stake their claim for hardware.

Even had injury not robbed triple jumper Wellman of his place in the team, there was no guarantee the former World Indoor champion, particularly in light of his disappointing form this season, would again follow a path to the podium. However, with Britain's world record holder Jonathan Edwards also sidelined by injury, a golden opportunity, quite literally, has presented itself to those in the field who might not otherwise have been considered contenders.

So this time around tiny Bermuda will stake its reputation on quantity rather than quality -- the 25-strong squad marking the Island's largest-ever Games contingent.

It's hardly reasonable to expect a nation of 60,000 to compete on even terms with the likes of Australia, Canada, South Africa, England and New Zealand in a festival which ranks second in size only to the Olympics, and has among its cast many of the Olympians who struck gold just two years ago.

Some 6,000 athletes from 69 nations comprise the '98 Friendly Games, hosted by an Asian country for the first time in its 68-year history.

Yet if anyone can step into the shoes of Wellman and Saunders, it might be cyclist Elliot Hubbard who, four years ago as an amateur, first made his mark on the world stage at these very Games.

Hubbard has come a long way since, turning professional and maturing into arguably Bermuda's most accomplished athlete.

But a Games medal? Hubbard and coach Greg Hopkins won't admit as much publicly, but both secretly harbour hopes of a stunning surprise in tomorrow's 12-loop 184 kilometre road race.

The key to such an upset lies in the course's three demanding climbs, the type on which Hubbard has built his ever-growing reputation.

Similar undulations helped the young Bermudian to second place in a US pro stage race earlier this year and although he might not be Tour de France material just yet, there's increasing admiration for his ability when the going gets tough.

Such situations normally play into the hands of pro teams such as those from Australia, Canada and England who are expected to dominate and dictate tomorrow's race.

But for the first time at a major Games, Hubbard has a team of his own -- MacInnes Looby, Steve Sterritt and talented teen Kris Hedges.

Hubbard should, and probably will, consider himself in a different league to team-mates whose sole aim will be to stick with the pack for as long as possible.

However, in the early going their support will provide Hubbard with an unusual psychological lift.

If he can build on that to make his trademark break on one of the three hills remains a very big `if'.

Hubbard has geared for this race all year, says he's never felt fitter and is no longer over-awed in the company of top pros. If he can avoid a tangle such as that which tipped him out of the Atlanta Olympics two years ago, a monumental upset might just be in the making.

Elsewhere, Bermudians' aspirations will be to emerge from qualifying heats, perform personal bests and perhaps set new national records.

And a good candidate for all three might just be swimmer Stephen Fahy, who like Hubbard, has come a long way since Victoria '94.

Fahy carries the Bermuda flag at tonight's opening ceremony but more importantly carries the weight of a talented but internationally inexperienced swim team whose forays at Caribbean level are a far cry from the competition that will come from a cocky but hugely talented Australian contingent.

The Yale student's hopes are pinned on the 200m individual medley -- the last of his five events -- where he hopes to go one better than breaststroker Chris Flook who reached a consolation final in Canada four years ago.

According to coach Gareth Davies he'll need to clip perhaps as much as two seconds off his own record and PB to reach a final which will read like swimming's Who's Who.

But, says Davies, he's fit and talented enough to upset the odds.

If Bermuda have any dark horses, they might be found among a tenpin bowling team who are helping to celebrate the sport's Games debut.

June Pitt and Dianne (Bobbie) Ingham, who along with Conrad Lister and Antoine Jones make up the Island quartet, showed their international pedigree with a sixth place finish at the Pan-Am Games qualifiers almost a year ago.

Against the best of the American continent's bowlers that was an impressive showing, and competition here in Kuala Lumpur might not be any tougher.

And talking of tough competition, nobody faces a more daunting prospect than the affable but quietly spoken middle distance runner Terrance Armstrong who with high jumper Ronan Kane comprises Bermuda's smallest track and field team in recent memory.

Armstrong, with coach Gerry Swan, was the last of the Bermuda team to arrive at the Games village yesterday and now faces a week's wait before stepping out against the indominitable Africans in what might be the blue riband event of these Games, the 1500 metres.

At 27, Armstrong is a seasoned campaigner but continues to lower his times almost every year.

The 1500m final will be the last individual event, preceding the track relays and then closing ceremony.

As chef de mission Jay Kempe pointed out, nothing would cap his team's participation in Kuala Lumpur better than a Bermudian competing before a wildly cheering capacity crowd in a race that has every possibility of making track history.

"It would be dream ending,'' smiled Kempe.

CYCLING CYC