Tyler Hamilton has been linked to a deal to join new Italian-Russian continental team Tinkoff for the 2007 racing season and could be part of the team’s roster set to be revealed Monday.

Team officials wouldn’t confirm Friday if they have signed the 35-year-old, but other sources told VeloNews that Hamilton is poised to sign a contract that could mark his return to competition after serving a two-year racing ban for blood doping.

“I have contact with many riders and the Tinkoff team is very interesting to many riders. We have a long list of riders and Tyler Hamilton is among them,” Tinkoff team manager Omar Piscina told VeloNews. “Tyler Hamilton is a great rider and he has ended his problem about the positive case.”

Hamilton’s contentious racing ban for blood doping ended in September and USA Cycling has given him the green light to resume racing.

The Hamilton doping case was one of the most controversial in U.S. cycling history. He maintains he did not inject another person’s blood into his body despite UCI-sanctioned tests that revealed foreign blood cells in post-stage tests taken during the 2004 Vuelta a España.

Hamilton, however, is facing a possible lifetime ban if alleged links to the Operación Puerto blood doping ring in Spain prove convincing.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is currently reviewing a stash of documents rounded up by Spanish police in May raids of apartments owned by alleged ringmaster Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. Faxes, documents and a frozen cache of blood found in Fuentes’ apartments have been linked to Hamilton.

USADA will eventually make a recommendation on whether a disciplinary hearing will be opened against Hamilton. Until that review is finalized, USA Cycling officials said there is no official inquiry against Hamilton and he can resume competition.

Hamilton’s two-year ban ended Sept. 23, but UCI officials warned they would invoke rules in the ProTour Ethics Code that would keep the 2004 Olympic time trial champion from competing for an additional two years with one of 20 ProTour teams.

Continental teams, however, would be free to sign Hamilton and the New Englander’s comeback plans could be part of the ambitious new project led by Piscina and new sponsor Tinkoff.

Piscina told VeloNews there’s one “major rider” he was reluctant to name that’s among the list of 16 racers to be unveiled Monday by the team. Piscina said Ivan Basso would be too expensive for his budget and that Jan Ullrich was still not cleared to race. Hamilton, however, did not respond to inquiries regarding the possibility that he might join the team.

Other big names set to join the upstart continental squad include Tour de France stage-winner Salvatore Commesso and Ruggero Marzoli (both ex-Lampre-Fondital), German sprinter Danilo Hondo, Ricardo Serrano (ex-Kaiku) and Olympic champion Mikhail Ignatiev along with seven other promising Russian riders.

“We want to arrive in two or three years to be a very important program,” Piscina said. “We have a three-year commitment with our sponsor and we are making a strong start this season. Our dream would be to earn a wild card for the 2007 Giro d’Italia.”

Colnago will be the team’s bike sponsor and Piscina said he’s already been in contact with officials in the United States to express interest in racing both the Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia.

“We want to make a very interesting international program and race in both the United States and Europe,” he said. “I have very good sensations for the next season. I think we will be among the best continental teams in Europe.”

Piscina said another “two or three” riders could be signed in the coming weeks before closing out their roster with about 18 riders by mid-November.

The team will feature much of the same support staff and structure from Team LPR, which folded at the end of this season. Sharing duties as sport director will be Orlando Maini and ex-rider Dimitri Konyshev, the veteran Russian who retired this season.