Welcome back Astana, the Giro needs you

Giro organisers made the correct decision when making a U-turn and inviting Astana back to the Italy's biggest cycle tour of the year.

What cycling (and sport in general) needs are personalities, characters and champions and with Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andrea Kloden you have a small ingredient in each of them.

Podcast video highlights of every stage of the 2008 Giro d'Italia

At what cost would the Giro have suffered by taking a moral high ground?

Talk to riders, team directors and cycling fans, and I'm sure most agree Astana's inclusion in each of the Grand Tours is a must.

After all this is a different combination to the one that was clouded with suspicions of doping last year.

There's no Alexandre Vinokourov nor Andrey Kashechkin to mention just two names who have forever been disgraced from world cycling.

Kloden has never been implicated despite his past links with the defunct T-Mobile while Contador has never been proven guilty of doping despite the rumours during his time at Liberty Seguros.

With British legend Sean Yates at the helm as team directior, Astana have approached the year with a fresh, and hopefully, clean attitude.

The Giro needs this team of champions, and given their late arrival to Palermo, this group may take some time to re-adjust to the rigours of a three week tour.

The Giro is a better and brighter race for their inclusion and when the race hits the Dolomites in the final stages, you can be sure, one of three (if not all) of their superstars will be challenging for the maglia rosa.