The leading team held its first place ranking as it tackled the Criffel Peak and Pisa mountain ranges towards the Kawarau River.
Despite team member Chris Forne's sore knee, it steadily continued its domination of the event and was yesterday kayaking towards Kingston on stage five of the event.
Behind it, the gap is rapidly closing, with second position being taken yesterday by the world No 1-ranked team Vidaraid, from Brazil, with Spain third.
It passed Queenstown team Swordfox on the mountain bike stage.
''We have a real race on at the front end now and for the first time ever in Godzone it's looking like Seagate are really going to be pushed and pursued as we enter the second half of the course,'' race director Warren Bates said.
As the course widens across the regions and heads south towards Kingston, the field of more than 50 remaining teams will increasingly spread out, with the trailing teams up to two days behind the leaders.
Many of the mid-placed teams are on the coasteering section on Lake Wanaka and riding along the Dampner Bay track towards the township.
''It's a decent-sized mountain bike rising to 1963m on Mt Pisa, the highest point we have ever gone to on the Godzone, so the chasing teams in the top 10 placings are really going to feel it today,'' Bates said.
While Team Seagate took its first hours of sleep on Sunday night, Vidaraid did not.
''There is a lot of strategy at play right now with these top three teams and Seagate will smoke this paddle - they are champion kayakers.
''But Vidaraid are going to have to sleep at some stage, so does that mean Swordfox could get back in front of them and regain second place? They are hanging in there and it's still anyone's game to win,'' Bates said.
