Report: Ineos to bolster rear guard with Amador
Costa Rican domestique is said to be heading to Ineos in what's the latest chapter in a long-simmering feud between his agent and Movistar
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Team Ineos is poised to bolster its offensive line in dramatic fashion with the addition of Costa Rican domestique Andrey Amador.
According to the Spanish daily MARCA, the 33-year-old could leave Movistar, which announced in July that Amador would stay, to join WorldTour powerhouse Ineos next season.
Amador is one of the strongest helpers in the peloton, and was a key rider in support of Richard Carapaz en route to the overall title at the Giro d’Italia in May. Carapaz is also heading to Ineos next season in a move that guarantees a strong presence across all three grand tours for cycling’s richest team.
Amador will provide extra firepower for Ineos as it moves into the Egan Bernal era. The 22-year-old Colombian won the Tour de France this summer in dramatic fashion, and the British team has been busy refitting its team for the future over the past few seasons. Other young riders joining Ineos are Pavel Sivakov, Iván Sosa, Filippo G1nna, and Tao Geoghegan Hart, all in their early 20s.
Amador will also help relieve veteran Ineos staples, including Vasil Kiryienka and Christian Knees, both 38.
MARCA also reported that Amador’s move to Ineos is the latest round in a simmering battle between the Spanish WorldTour team and Italian agent Giuseppe Acquadro. Spanish daily El País reported last month that Acquadro and Movistar general manager Eusebio Unzué have broken off relations, and that the Spanish manager vowed not to sign any of the Italian’s riders. Acquadro represents many Spanish and Latin American riders, Amador, Nairo Quintana, Carapaz, Rigoberto Urán and Bernal among them.
Many of Acquadro’s riders are now part of both Team Ineos and Astana, leaving Movistar in a leadership crunch going into 2020.
At the end of 2019, the lone Spanish WorldTour team is losing Quintana to Arkéa-Samsic, Mikel Landa to Bahrain-Merida, and Carapaz to Ineos, its three main leaders over the past two seasons.
Alejandro Valverde, 39, remains, and the team is hoping to rebuild with the arrival of Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) and Italians Davide Villella and Dario Cataldo, both Astana.
