At the annual general meeting of the FIC in Malahide last Saturday, delegates ratified an unchanged board of 10 to continue governing Irish cycling next season. An obvious priority is to decide on who is to take charge of racing affairs as national team director.

This will be one of the items on the agenda at the first meeting in the Dublin headquarters tomorrow morning and the president Pat McQuaid said: "The most likely outcome is to enlist the help of a coach from the French Federation. They have agreed to assist us and they have fully qualified men available. We will be seeking additional funding for the venture."

When Alastair MacLennan's contract was not renewed for 1997, after seven years in charge as national team director, Frankie Campbell agreed to stand in and do the job temporarily although he had been elected as chairman of the sporting committee. Originally the arrangement was for only the first few months of the season until the vacancy was filled but, with insufficient money available to make an appointment, Campbell kept going throughout the season.

However, at the agm, Campbell announced he would not be continuing in that role - he is just staying on as head of the sporting committee.

Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly are obvious names for the job and they would certainly enhance the stature of the post. Although they will be available to assist and advise, they would not be able to devote the time necessary to do it full-time.

Paddy Doran, the most qualified coach and tutor in the country, who is to share the coaching responsibilities with Brendan Donoghue after they both received 40 votes in the ballot for chairmanship of the coaching committee on Saturday, is another obvious choice but he told me he would not be a candidate.

Last month Donoghue organised a series of coaching sessions in Dublin, Limerick and Belfast. They were conducted by Roger Pelletier of the French Federation who said he or some other Frenchman would be available to fill the role of Irish team director and coach.