Cape Town - German cyclist Karl Platt and Swiss partner Urs Huber pushed themselves to the limit on Tuesday to win the second stage of the Absa Cape Epic.
This gave them an overall lead of six minutes and 23 seconds.
The Bulls team riders took advantage of some cruel luck to defending champion Christoph Sause.
He was desperately trying to make up time when his partner, Olympic champion Jaroslav Kulhavy, snapped his chain in a fast-paced breakaway.
The two riders struggled to repair the chain and when they finally restarted, they were chasing the race once again, just as they had on stage one.
The second Bulls team of Thomas Dietsch and Tim Boehme, came in second, while Sauser and Kulhavy did superbly well to snatch third place.
The Merida team of Jose Hermida and Rude van Houts, who held the yellow jersey after stage one, had mechanical problems of their own early in the race and struggled to make up time, ending the stage in sixth.
Darren Lill and Charlie Keey remained the most powerful South African team, finishing sixth on Tuesday.
Stage three on Wednesday is another short run of 96km on a figure of eight course in the Tulbach valley.
Sapa