Amador is the son of Rodolfo Amador, a Costa Rican, and Raisa Bikkazakova, a Russian immigrant who arrived in the country after meeting and marrying Amador's father. The youngest of three brothers, Amador started cycling professionally at the age of 20 in 2006, but started cycling at a very early age.[8] Amador was selected to carry the flag for Costa Rica at the 2011 Pan American Games opening ceremony.[9] He is the first Costa Rican to ever ride the Tour de France. In 2012, Amador won a mountainous stage 14 in the Giro d'Italia after breaking away from the group during the final descent right before the final climb. Though he was caught right at the finish of the climb, he won the sprint in the end. In 2013, he finished 8th overall in the Tirreno-Adriatico.
At the end of the 2019 season, Amador sought to break an agreement that he had in place with the Movistar Team for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, in order to join Team Ineos.[11] The contract negotiations were not resolved until Amador was released by the Movistar Team on 11 February 2020. Amador signed a three-year deal with Team Ineos the following day, with his first race start scheduled to come at the UAE Tour in the final week of February.[4] In 2023 he was riding for EF Education–EasyPost
^Ortiz de Guinea, Oskar (14 March 2007). "Desde Costa Rica a Pamplona, a ver nevar" [From Costa Rica to Pamplona, to see it snow]. Noticias de Gipuzkoa (in Spanish). Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. Archived from the original on 20 March 2007.
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