Tour de France Femmes: Ricarda Bauernfeind triumphs on Stage 5, Lotte Kopecky still tops GC

Ricarda Bauernfeind (Canyon//SRAM Racing) landed a momentous solo victory on Stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes.

Following a day when numerous riders had attempted to mount a breakaway, Bauernfeind took her own chances to try and make things stick as she launched off the front with 36km to go.

She was joined initially by Brit Claire Steels (Israel Premier Tech Roland) but the 23-year-old German dropped her fellow escapee and set about building a gap of over a minute.

Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) began pulling hard at the front of the peloton in a bid to perhaps land team-mate Lotte Kopecky another stage win, but Bauernfeind still had a 25-second gap as the final 2km approached.