ALASDAIR MACLENNAN announced yesterday that he will not be seeking a renewal of his contract as national team director when it expires on December 31st.

The 40-year-old Scot has been in the job for seven years and had a lot of success as manager of Irish teams but he has decided it's time for another move.

When first appointed by the Irish Federation, MacLennan intended moving on after the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona but, following Conor Henry's victory in the `92 Milk Race in Britain, he applied for an extension of.his contract and had a successful spell, with members of his Irish teams - Eamon Byrne, Declan Lonergan and Paul McQuaid - winning the FBD Milk Ras three years in a row.

MacLennan introduced the highly acclaimed under-age scheme to Irish cycling and he has travelled extensively. In addition to regular World championships and other events at European venues, there were trips to Colombia, he was with Lonergan when the Waterford man was successful in a World Cup track points race in Cuba and he was also manager in, 1992 of the international team when Lonergan won three stages of the Commonwealth Bank classic in Australia.

The Tour of New Zealand was also included on that trip and he was with the Irish team in the Tour of Malaysia at the beginning of this season when Richie McCauley was a stage winner.

Since the Olympics at Atlanta, where he was manager of a five-man Irish team, MacLennan has been contemplating his future and the announcement of his decision to move on is not surprising.

There has been concern this season over the decline in Irish standards and the continued lack of success at international level. The FIC president Pat McQuaid set up a committee to examine the terms of reference of the national team director. Their recommendations have not been put before the FIC Board yet but the whole structure of Irish cycling is under review with the appointment of a new team director likely to be on only a part-time basis.

. Finn O'Sullivan's sponsored ride for the Motor Neurone Disease Association on Sunday from Tralee to Dublin was a great success. Although heavy rain was encountered, the strong wind was favourable and he set up a record for the 184 miles of eight hours and seven minutes.