David Arroyo has ridden an extraordinary season in which he finished second in the Giro d'Italia, beaten only by Ivan Basso. For his great season Arroyo received an award at the sports gala in San Sebastián de los Reyes, which is close to Madrid. He was one of many sports persons recognized, including a soccer player from Real Madrid.
Arroyo was quite pleased with the award. "Another recognition, which I pick up with a lot of affection," he said according to www.esciclismo.com. "For me, prizes such as this one are unusual and I enjoy that the people like the hard work that I put in." He was also happy that his sport made good headlines. "It is nice that cycling continues to be a well-liked sport," Arroyo said.
In attendance was also the brother of Arroyo's teammate Luis León Sánchez, Pedro León Sánchez. He plays soccer for Real Madrid and also picked up a prize.
Arroyo started his career in 2001 with Onze. In 2004 he went to Portuguese team L.A.-Pecol for one year, then joined Caisse d'Epargne, for which he has ridden since. Arroyo will be part of the Movistar line-up in 2011, which took over the Caisse team.