Movistar rider Amador beaten unconscious as thieves steal his bike

Movistar rider Andrey Amador is recovering in hospital after being badly beaten while out on a training ride in his native Costa Rica by thieves who stole his team issue Pinarello Dogma 60.1 bike.

The 24-year-old was on his own undertaking his final ride of 2010 when he was attacked by the occupants of two cars who left him unconscious after he tried to escape on foot and also took his bike, the apparent target of the attack, reports Spanish sports daily Marca.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the team, which previously rode as Caisse d’Epargne, said: “Our rider Andrey Amador is recovering in hospital in Costa Rica after being attacked by persons unknown while he was training on the outskirts of the capital. Andrey is conscious and is improving with each hour that passes.”

Amador’s brother Ivan, quoted in Marca, filled in some of the details of the attack, saying that his brother had been left unconscious in a river bed for six hours, coming round late in the afternoon, when he phoned his family who came and got him.

At first, it seemed like the cyclist was only suffering from bumps and bruises, but the following morning he started vomiting, at which point he was taken to hospital, where doctors found that one of his kidneys had stopped functioning as a result of the beating Amador had suffered and that he was also suffering from a pulmonary contusion that was affecting his breathing. The cyclist is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries.

Amador’s bike is equipped with Campagnolo’s new electronic groupset, and with team issue models only released to riders before at a team training camp before Christmas, may prove difficult for the thieves to dispose of.

As for its value, Team Sky put a price tag of £14,000 on a pro spec Dogma equipped with Shimano Di2 when giving one away as a competition prize last year.