Yaroslav Popovych may be close to a contract with Quick.Step-Innergetic. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, World Champion Paolo Bettini’s team is interested in the Ukranian cyclist. The 27 year-old cyclist would be available to switch teams. His current Discovery Channel team announced last week it is disbanding at the end of 2007.

Popovych won stage five of Paris-Nice this year and finished eighth overall in the Tour de France, where two of his team-mates, Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer stood on the podium.