At the bottom of the list for entries will be first timers or those who have not raced in a few years.

"I wanted to make sure that those people who have supported LOTOJA in the past were able to get in," Chambers said. "I know there will be some people who complain about not getting in or having a later start time, but the bottom line for us is to have a safe race."

Chambers said the 2008 version of LOTOJA will have a hard cap of 1,000 cyclists and there will be no waiting list maintained. Refunds or transferring registration to another person is also not an option.

"We want people to be serious about their participation," he said. "When they register in April, they should have plenty of time to train and prepare.

"For some, to have an option to get out means they will not be serious about training for it."

ROAD SEASON STARTS: Though cyclists have been training and riding throughout the winter, the local racing season begins in earnest this weekend with the Hell of the North circuit race on Saturday.

The race, which takes cyclists on a series of 5-mile loops north of the airport, is unique in that one leg of the loop is on a gravel road. Racing begins at 9 a.m. for Cat 4 cyclists and continues through the day with the Pro/Cat 1-2 starting at 1 p.m.

Registration information can be found at hellofthenorth.com.

Next week is the first local stage race of the season. The Triple Valley Stage Race will include a road race, an individual time trial and a circuit race spread over three days in the Tooele, Skull and Salt Lake valleys. Visit triplevalley.com for more info.

SALT LAKE MARATHON REMINDER: There are only two weeks left before the Salt Lake Marathon takes runners and cyclists through the neighborhoods and streets of the valley. The race, which begins April 19 at 7 a.m. at the Olympic Legacy Bridge on the University of Utah campus, will include thousands of athletes in the marathon, half-marathon, 5K or bike tour.

TRIATHLETES BREAK THE ICE: It was a cold morning in American Fork for the nearly 400 triathletes participating in the first significant event of the season in the area.

The Timp Tri Club's annual Icebreaker was forced to reverse the order of the race to prevent soaked swimmers from leaving a warm pool and venturing out into a 30-degree bike ride.

Still, Highland's Cameron Lasky was credited with the fastest time among the men, finishing the race in 56 minutes, 24 seconds. Kamas' Jamie Lambert won the women's division with a 1:06:36 time.

SPEEDSKATING TRAINING GROUP: Under the direction of Olympic speedskating coach Peter Schotting, a 48-week program designed to develop the next wave of stars on the oval will begin in late April.

A limited number of positions in the group are available and there has been some international interest in the training program which will work with juniors, seniors or masters class athletes.

Call 313-658-0448 or e-mail pmb229@yahoo.com for more information.

---

E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com