Tyler Hamilton is savoring his first days back in the peloton after more than two years in exile in what was one of the most controversial doping cases in cycling history.

Riding in Tuesday’s GP Marseillaise and today’s opening stage of the five-day Etoile de Besseges in southern France, Hamilton told French journalists he wants to put his troubles behind him and focus on earning a slot in the Giro d’Italia (May 12-June 3).

“I have to be realistic and it will take a little time. I especially hope to ride the Giro d’Italia, that will be a big challenge,” he told AFP. “I hope to be there, but since our team isn’t officially selected yet, I can’t say if that’s an objective yet, but I have my fingers crossed.”

Hamilton - 36 next month – last raced in the 2004 Vuelta a España where he tested positive for illegal blood transfusions after winning a time trial.

Despite mounting a vigorous defense and maintaining his innocence throughout a lengthy hearing and appeal process, last year the Court for Arbitration in Sport upheld a two-year racing ban that ended September 23.

Hamilton said he hopes to put the controversy behind him and just wants to concentrate on competition. “It was a great moment to be able to ride again after two-and-a-half years away. To suffer on the bike will be nothing after what I’ve been through. Journalists treated me badly and they didn’t do their research, they didn’t tell all the facts,” Hamilton said. “But what’s done is done and it’s necessary to look toward the future. Yesterday was also a great day for the team, with the young rider [Mihail] Ignatiev finishing second, so it was a good beginning of the season.”

A strict ethics code kept Hamilton out of the ProTour league, but he was more than happy to join the upstart Tinkoff Credit Systems team. Sponsored by Russian magnate Oleg Tinkoff, the team ambiance reminded Hamilton of when he started out with U.S. Postal Service and the early days at Team CSC and Phonak.

The Ruso-Italian team will race a mix of French and Italian races with hopes of earning a wild-card bid to the 2007 Giro. Hamilton won a stage and finished second overall in the 2002 Giro after riding as a lieutenant to Lance Armstrong during the first three of the Texan’s seven Tour de France victories.

“There are a lot of young riders here, the majority with just 22 or 23 years, and I will be one of the leaders. They need someone a little older to guide them. There are also some Italians about 30 years old, there’s me at 35 and Danilo Hondo, also in his 30s,” Hamilton said. “I’ve always been involved with teams that are small at the beginning, like U.S. Postal and then I went to CSC, then I joined Phonak, which up that point hadn’t proven anything. So I am not afraid to join a young team that has a lot to prove but also has a lot of potential.”

French journalists also asked Hamilton about compatriot Floyd Landis, who is facing the unsavory prospect of losing his 2006 Tour de France crown on equally controversial doping allegations.

“I never rode with Floyd on the same team, but I know him a little bit from our time together in Spain,” he said. “I don’t believe he would do something like that and I believe him when he says he’s innocent.”