Andrey Amador

[Ryo Hazuki]

Wow!! He finally has his first gt ever in which he hasn't (seriously) crashed in the first week and look at his level! he even surprises me. the breakthrough moment for him!

 

[Mr.White]

GC contender in the making. Quintana and Valverde will have a back up option now. Amazing ride so far, would like to see him on the podium, and with Aru fading form he could just make it

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

he should work on his itt too. used to be a lot better

 

[ILovecycling]

Hopeful he can keep on improving GT wise.Great ride so far, what's his race programme?

 

[Bushman]

Re:

I must say I am genuinely happy for him I have always been a fan of his since I learned about him (don't know why tbh, just seems like a great guy and has always had a lot of bad luck). I always thought he had more in him if he could avoid crashes and injuries but I had never thought he would be challenging for a Giro podium! He must be the first Costa Rican to do that, surely?

he should work on his itt too. used to be a lot better

Well, his tt wasn't too bad compared to the gc riders who had worse conditions. Only Contador, König, and Kruijswijk beat him.

But he has been doing the classics for the last couple of years and intended to do the same this year before crashing out (of course). Maybe he hasn't been paying attention to his tt because of shifting his focus a bit to the classics?

Never thought he would be climbing so well, he is much heavier than must of the other gc guys. On the other hand he has got quite a good engine.

Just praying that he won't get any bad luck would be such a pity. If he can avoid it, I'm quite sure he can keep these kind of performances up!

 

[Pentacycle]

To me Amador always seemed a rider for one day races/stages and TT's, but now he shows this amazing shape in the third week. I think he could be better in grand tours than in one week races in terms of GC. He doesn't have the biggest power, but he doesn't run out as fast, and it seems like the Giro is the place to be for that type of tough rider. See Trofimov, Hesjedal etc.

 

[Carols]

This guy made my list today also. Little Costa Rican, best they ever turned out, making the big time, go for it!

 

[Escarabajo]

Truly impressed by this guy the last couple of stages. I didn't know he had it in him. Good job Andrey!!!!

 

[movingtarget]

He has surprised me and done very well.

 

[Asero831]

If Movistar let Costa go, for sure they will also let Amador leave. But it still depends if Costa Rica is a huge market for them.
We'll see

 

[Popchu]

Great allround rider. Let's not forget he was pretty close to the victory in Gent-Wevelgem last year.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Great rider, I really like him. Never thought of him as a GC contender though, and I highly doubt that he will ever do this well in a GT again. It does makes sense though; he gets better the harder the race and the worse the conditions get. I could see him as challenger for tough one day races like Lombardia etc.

 

[Bushman]

Re:

If Movistar let Costa go, for sure they will also let Amador leave. But it still depends if Costa Rica is a huge market for them.
We'll see

Why would they?? How does this make sense?

 

[staubsauger]

Re:

If Movistar let Costa go, for sure they will also let Amador leave. But it still depends if Costa Rica is a huge market for them.
We'll see

Whole South America is a market for them. Otherwise the team would be called "O2 cycling" or "Telefonica"

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

amadors giro performane is making headlines in costa rican papers and tv every day. so yes this is very big for costa rica, where cycling is very popular. however costa rica is of course a very small market

 

[Arredondo]

Great rider. Always thought he could more then he showed, but climbing the Mortirolo that way is a surprise by me! I think his chance of getting the podium is quite big. He's stronger then Aru atm.

 

[Taxus4a]

He has been always a super rider. No surprises with this Giro.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Andrey Amador: Corazón de gregario

 

[gospina]

Can we add him now as a sleeper GC? Valverde is plan A, but Betancur and Amador both will be with Valverde in the mountain stages until the final climb. All have high chance in GC. 3 in the top 10?

 

[Bushman]

Re:

Can we add him now as a sleeper GC? Valverde is plan A, but Betancur and Amador both will be with Valverde in the mountain stages until the final climb. All have high chance in GC. 3 in the top 10?

Dont think Betancur will be there yet, maybe by second or third week.

Amador definitely will be thereabouts I think, he looks even stronger than last year.

 

[AlexNYC]

Re:

Can we add him now as a sleeper GC? Valverde is plan A, but Betancur and Amador both will be with Valverde in the mountain stages until the final climb. All have high chance in GC. 3 in the top 10?

Unless Valverde loses a huge amount of time, a la 2013 TdF, everyone in Movistar, including Amador and Betancur, will be slaving for him.

 

[gospina]

Re: Re:

Can we add him now as a sleeper GC? Valverde is plan A, but Betancur and Amador both will be with Valverde in the mountain stages until the final climb. All have high chance in GC. 3 in the top 10?

Unless Valverde loses a huge amount of time, a la 2013 TdF, everyone in Movistar, including Amador and Betancur, will be slaving for him.

If they are slaving for him, why bother going so hard on the prologue and today, trying to be in the front of the SPRINT (he finished 6th!)? if they were meant to be only workers, they wouldn't be wasting bullets so early. My only fear is that Amador is peaking week 1.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Surely one of the most allround riders in the peloton, very impressive. After his top5 last year, I hope he can get another top10 this year.

 

[murali]

great to see him evolve.
I think he can be good enough to lead a new team next year if piti doesnt retire this season.

 

[ice&fire]

Re:

great to see him evolve.
I think he can be good enough to lead a new team next year if piti doesnt retire this season.

Piti has contract until the end of 2017.
Amador's 4th place last year must be one of the greatest performances of a second tier rider without having got a free bonus in a breakway. He was always in the second group of climbers. He gained time on Hesjedal and Kruijswijk only in the ITT and the first week. But he had limited visibility in the key mountain stages. With this limited visibility, I can only see him leading a team at races that are not top goal for the team, which is more or less what he's been doing at Movistar all these years. I always thought he had the potential of doing an Erviti at Flanders. Maybe next year.