Basso hunt continues

"I'll announce the name of my next team within the first few days of November," Basso told reporters on Monday at a ceremony celebrating his Giro D'Italia victory from May.

"Discovery? It's one of the candidates, but there are also others."

For his part though, Discovery sporting director Johan Bruyneel said that he would not sign Basso until the International Cycling Union (UCI) cleared him of all charges relating to the Operation Puerto doping scandal, a decision that does not look like it will come anytime soon.

"If it's shown that there's no charges against him in this whole case, then I could be interested, but first I have to see an official statement&hellip that he has nothing to do with it," Bruyneel told eurosport.com on Thursday.

"It's ultimately going to be the UCI that's going to decide what's going to happen."

The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) recommended that Italy's Cycling Federation drop the disciplinary hearing against the rider, but official word has yet to come down from the federation or the UCI.

Basso's manager and former team-mate Giovanni Lombardi said earlier this week that the rider had received offers from both Barloworld and Discovery, but Bruyneel denied having tendered the Italian a firm offer.

"Not true," Lance Armstrong's former sporting director put it bluntly.

"From what I understand the Italian federation has still not made a decision on him."

The UCI has said, however, that it could take Basso to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if it disagrees with the final judgement of the Italian Cycling Federation.

Bruyneel added that he didn't "really understand the position of the UCI," and suggested that cycling's world governing body should be in agreement with that of Italian officials.

Complicating matters is the ongoing trial in Spain, which has suspended all sporting bodies from using evidence from the official investigation to conduct disciplinary hearings.

Basso, meanwhile, continued to protest his innocence, saying that he was pained when Tour de France organisers booted him on the eve of this year's race because of the Spanish doping probe.

"It really hurt me to be kicked out of the Tour 15 hours before the start," Basso said. "Days of revenge will come next year when I race the Giro and Tour."

Basso added that he felt like the rightful winner of the 2006 Tour of Italy.

"I think it's a deserved award. I won a great Giro d'Italia and I don't feel awkward at all."