By Matt Majendie BBC Sport Online

Jan Ullrich looks set to sign for CSC-Tiscali, according to team boss Bjarne Riis.

Riis has been tracking the former Tour de France winner since he split with former employers Team Telekom this season.

And on Tuesday, he told BBC Sport Online he was confident of luring the German to his team.

He said: "We're talking to Jan at the moment and are working towards bringing him to the team. I hope it's possible - we just need a little more time."

The only remaining stumbling block is that the Danish team have yet to ensure a co-sponsor for next season.

That is done now - it happened but that is it Bjarne Riis on Ullrich's drugs indiscretion

CSC's main backer, Italian internet and telecommunications firm Tiscali, has withdrawn its sponsorship for next season.

But Riis, who won the Tour de France as a rider back in 1996 alongside then team-mate Ullrich, is confident of thrashing out a deal in the next fortnight.

"It's not sorted out yet," he said. "We are working at the moment to settle it out and I hope in the near future to have it.

"Whatever happens we'll be in cycling but what the name is going to be I can't tell you yet."

Should Ullrich sign for the Danish team, as expected, he will arrive having served out a six-month doping ban.

The 1997 Tour de France winner tested positive for amphetamines in July and later admitted to taking the banned substance in a nightclub while recovering from injury.

Riis, though, believes his drug indiscretions are now a thing of the past.

Ullrich's annus horribilis

Jan-July - Knee injury May - Drives off from road accident; banned from driving June - Fails drugs test July - Banned from cycling for six months

"That is done now - it happened but that is it," he added.

Ullrich, though, may not be the only addition to the team for next season, with a host of other riders already being linked to the up-and-coming outfit.

"I know it's late in the season for signing new riders but we still have a lot of possibilities," added Riis.

"There are still a lot of riders on the market and we already have a very strong team.

"We need one more for the classics and maybe one in the mountains. And, if we have Ullrich, the team now is a very strong team."

Ullrich is expected to fill the gap left by team leader Laurent Jalabert who retired from professional cycling after last weekend's World Championships.

Riis concluded: "Of course we'll miss Laurent but, if we can be lucky and have Jan Ullrich, we still have a good leader."