Promising 24 year old rider Andrey Amador is hoping to step up a level in 2011, which will see his team colours switch from that of Caisse d'Epargne to the new Spanish Movistar outfit. The rider who hails from Costa Rica has settled in the Basque Region, training hard for what he hopes to become a breakout season. Amador wants to avoid past mistakes and gives his new team a thumbs up for obtaining good results in the months ahead.
Amador still remembers the fateful day more than a decade ago that would change his life. "In 1997 we received mountain bikes for Christmas and went out on the weekends. We started to train more and eventually entered a mountain bike race," Amador said in an interview to ciclistayciclismo.blogspot.com. His brother Ivan used to race, finsihing third in the Vuelta a Costa Rica in 2005.
From mountain biking Andrey switched to a road bike and now trains with road professionals. "[I ride with] Martin Iraitzos, Vasil Kirienka, and sometimes we go out with the Pamplona group ride." The club ride format fit the way Amador liked to train. "I used to train on instinct, which is not the best way to do it. This year I want to improve on some things, including a training program done by a professional."
Already in 2008, Amador raised eyebrows when he took the opening stage of the Tour de l'Avenir. "The fondest memory I have is from stage one of the Tour de l'Avenir, a time trial." He ended the mini Tour de France in fifth place overall, prompting the Caisse d'Epargne team to pick him up.
He spent two years learning and hopes the apprenticeship has paid off. "I tackle the season with a lot of hope and not repeating past mistakes. I want to show my worth," Amador said. He was already very visible in the astonishing stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia, where he made the big break of the day. "I have good memories from that, a historical stage, with the break of over 12 minutes." It propelled his teammate David Arroyo into second place overall.
"It was great satisfaction but also a lot of responsibility. We weren't favorites but we didn't lack much to take the Giro with a great leader like David, who always defended himself." Amador did his fair share of work for the team, where Arroyo ended in second overall, less than two minutes behind overall winner Ivan Basso.
Racing isn't always sun shine, and Amardor had his bad moments, too. "In the 2006 Vuelta a Costa Rica, I was second with one stage to go, the last mountain of the race. I was dropped after five kilometers, due to stomach problems." He finished the race but dropped back to 17th place overall, which was a big disappointment.
Amador went from Costa Rica to the Basque region on the recommendation of José Adrián Bonilla, who used to ride for Kelme, among other teams. Amador thinks that he and Bonilla shouldn't be the only riders from Costa Rice to try it out. "They should cross the Pond without fear, as we do have the level. I believe in that hope to do things very well and to find a spot on a professional team."