Andrey Amador has said he’s still pushing for a move from Movistar to Team Ineos, commenting that the riders at the British team 'don’t tread on each others’ toes'.
The Costa Rican, 33, has spent his entire professional career at Movistar but has been embroiled in a protracted contract dispute. In July, the Spanish team announced he was staying until the end of 2021, but Spanish newspaper Marca reported two months ago that he’d only signed a pre-agreement and was looking to free himself of it.
With just two weeks to go until the start of the new year and new season, time is running out, and Amador has revealed the move is ‘uncertain’ but is still pushing for it to come off.
"Of course I want to go to Team Ineos. Now the situation is uncertain but I need a change of scene and new objectives," Amador told the Joan Seguidor website.
"I’ll always be fond of these 10 years with Movistar, but I need a change. I hope the situation is cleared up soon."
It is understood Amador must buy his way out of his pre-agreement, but it has been weeks since his agent, Giuseppe Acquadro, said the situation would be resolved imminently. It's one part of a collapse in the relationship between Acquadro and the Movistar team management, following Giro d’Italia winner Richard Carapaz’s decision to move to Ineos. Movistar are now refusing to work Acquadro on any basis.
In the Joan Seguidor interview, Amador opened up about his desire to move to Team Ineos.
"Ineos are the model team, and have been since they entered the sport," he said. "They have brought great technological advancement to the sport and revolutionised the way of doing things."
Amador also made reference to the way the British team have won seven of the past eight editions of the Tour de France as a collective unit, potentially drawing a subtle comparison with Movistar, whose leadership issues resulted in a chaotic Tour this year.
"As rivals, we appreciate them a lot. We admire that way of dominating the Tour de France, which is the hardest race to control," Amador said.
"The eight perfect guys go, they dominate the situation, they don’t get exasperated, they think about the collective before the individual rider, and they don’t tread on each others’ toes."
In the past couple of years, Amador has established himself as one of the top domestiques in the peloton, notably guiding Carapaz to victory at this year’s Giro. That’s the role he sees himself playing at Ineos.
"It’s not clear at the moment, but starting from the fact I’m a rider who doesn’t win a lot, I can be an important rider at key moments," he said. "I’m much less impulsive now, I’m more mature, and that’s notable in my work for others."
