Johannesburg - Swiss Christoph Sauser and Czech Jaroslav Kulhavy claimed top honours on stage five of the Absa Cape Epic from Worcester to Wellington on Friday- their fourth stage win of the 2015 race.
The duo enjoyed an overall lead of more than 10 minutes and were on the verge of winning the event, and for Sauser it would be a landmark fifth time.
The 121km route included some fierce climbs during the gruelling stage.
By the time they crossed the finish line, they were almost a minute ahead on the day of the chasing team Ä Germany's Karl Platt and Swiss Urs Huber.
South Africans Darren Lill and Waylon Woolcock had a brilliant ride to finish third and to take back the red African special jersey.
It was a tough day for the second-placed team in the general classification, as Austrian Alban Lakata first punctured near the start and then twisted a chain when it fell off on a descent. Lakata replaced the chain at the official tech zone at water point three.
Hynek and Lakata retained their second place overall, but the Czech rider admitted the 10 minute and 51 second gap to the leaders was almost insurmountable with only two stages to go.
Another top performance by an all-South African team on Friday came from fourth-placed Gawie Combrinck and Johann Rabie. They were among four all-South African teams in the top 10, while local rider Timo Cooper finished 10th with German Stefan Sahm.
Sapa