Hilton Head cyclist captures stage win in Tour de Hungary

Hilton Head Island cyclist Chris Butler won the next-to-last stage of the Tour de Hungary last weekend, helping his Cycling Academy team sweep top honors in the six-day stage race through the Hungarian countryside.

Butler, a Hilton Head Christian graduate and former NCAA champion at Furman, prevailed in Saturday’s 89.5-mile mountain stage from Karcag to Kekesteto. The stage finishes with a climb up Hungary’s highest mountain, to some 3,300 feet above sea level.

Butler crossed the finish in 3 hours, 23 minutes, 44 seconds, coming in 31 seconds ahead of his nearest pursuer.

“The team believed in me and I wanted to put a dominating performance,” Butler told a team liaison after the stage victory. “And it was so sweet ... so sweet.”

The performance also helped solidify teammate Mihkel Raim’s position as the overall leader. Raim sealed the victory in Sunday’s final stage to Budapest, as Cycling Academy also captured its first team title since its debut 20 months ago.

Butler finished as the Tour’s top mountains rider, placing 18th in the overall standings. He was third among Cycling Academy riders behind Raim and Daniel Turek.

This story was originally published July 4, 2016 at 7:30 PM with the headline "Hilton Head cyclist captures stage win in Tour de Hungary."