Rémi Cusin and Matti Breschel both had plenty to celebrate after the second stage of Post Danmark Rundt.
Modolo forced to relinquish lead after finishing fourth
Rémi Cusin (Cofidis) and Matti Breschel (Rabobank) jumped clear of the field late on stage two at Post Danmark Rundt (Tour of Denmark) to take the stage win and the overall lead respectively.
The pair made what proved the decisive move on the final 4.7 kilometres loop around Aarhus at the end of the 189km trek from Grindsted.
They had a 10 seconds advantage with 2km remaining and it proved just enough for them to hold off the pack, Cusin edging out Breschel in the sprint to the line, with the Dane finishing runner up for the second day in succession.
Breschel, ruled out for much of this season through injury, had the significant consolation of claiming the leader's yellow jersey and underlined he could be a man to watch at the World Championships in Copenhagen next month.
Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek) won the bunch sprint for third, two seconds back, with Sacha Modolo's (Colnago-CSF) fourth place not quite enough to keep him in the leader's yellow jersey.
Breschel now leads by four seconds from Modolo on the general classification, with Michael Mørkøv (Saxo Bank Sungard) a further three seconds adrift in third.
Making the break
The stage had proved a testing one for the riders, taking place on undulating and narrow roads and it took a little while for the day's main break to get away.
But former winner Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Team Sky) and Danish pair Lasse Bøchman (Glud & Marstrand) and Michael Reihs (Christina Watches) managed to escape and quickly opened up a lead of over four minutes.
However Saxo Bank Sungard did much of the work on the front of the peloton to keep the gap in check and the advantage started to fall before the breakaway trio were joined by Jack Bobridge (Garmin-Cervelo) and Christopher Juul-Jensen (Glud & Marstrand).
Jakob Fuglsang - winner of the race for the previous three years but a minute and 44 seconds back after the first stage - also bridged the gap, along with Leopard Trek team-mate Martin Mortensen, as he tried to get himself back in contention.
But Fuglsang's hopes and those of the other six riders in the group were dashed as the peloton reeled in the break with just over 20km to go.
A bunch sprint then looked in the offing but Cusin and Breschel had other ideas and their late dig was fully rewarded, with both having plenty to celebrate on the podium in Aarhus.
Friday's third stage takes the riders 181km from Aarhus to Vejle and is set to be the toughest of the race, with a 21% climb late on likely to splinter the field.
