on 2 May 2007. On 7 May 2007, Basso admitted his involvement with the drug scandal to the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI). In a later press conference he stated it was "attempted doping", and that while he had not actually undergone doping, he was "fully aware that an attempt at doping is tantamount to doping" and that "[he would] serve [his] suspension and then return to race." On 15 June 2007, Basso received a two-year ban. The time he had already spent under team suspension whilst riding for CSC and temporary suspension since leaving Discovery were taken into consideration which means he was banned until 25 October 2008. Return after suspension After his return Basso signed a two-year contract with , his first race being in the Japan Cup on 26 October 2008. He proceeded to finish third, behind Damiano Cunego and Giovanni Visconti. In April 2009 he claimed overall victory in the Italian stage race Giro del Trentino. He then competed in his main objective for the year, the Giro d'Italia, where he finished fifth behind eventual winner Denis Menchov, Danilo Di Luca, fellow rider Franco Pellizotti and 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre. He also placed 4th in the Vuelta a España behind Alejandro Valverde, Samuel Sánchez, and Cadel Evans respectively. In 2010, Basso aimed to win his second Giro d'Italia, leading with his teammate Vincenzo Nibali. Despite having a quiet start to the race, he won the 15th stage of the race atop Monte Zoncolan, after his Liquigas team had set the pace for some in order to chase down a breakaway. After Stage 19, he led the general classification as a result of out-climbing previous race leader David Arroyo, and held it to the end of the race. This resulted in his second Giro win, after 2006. Basso then focused on the Tour de France where he attempted to win the Giro and the Tour during the same year but he ended up struggling through the last week, finishing 32nd. In 2011, Basso skipped the Giro d'Italia to focus on the Tour de France. After having a good start over the first 2 weeks sitting 5th overall, Basso struggled on stages 16 and 17 after being dropped on the final descents, and later finished 7th overall. In 2012, Basso started the season with quiet form focusing on the Giro d'Italia, but only finishing 5th