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Rookie Ricarda Bauernfeind broke away to take the fifth stage of the Ladies’s Tour de France on Thursday whereas Demi Vollering, one of many race favourites, slid down the standings after being hit with a 20-second penalty
Lotte Kopecky elevated her general lead after ending fourth, on the entrance of the chasing pack, as a result of her team-mate Vollering, who began the day in second and completed in the identical time, was punished for “drafting”.
Vollering suffered a rear-wheel puncture with 65km to go and dropped again to the SD Worx workforce automotive.
As a race marshall shouted at her to cease, the Dutch rider tucked into the slipstream of the automotive, which was attempting to weave between the automobiles of different groups, as she set off in pursuit of the peloton.
After a video evaluation, she was hit with a penalty that dropped her from second to seventh. She is 1min 3sec behind Belgian Kopecky however extra importantly slipped 12sec behind her nice Dutch rival Annemiek van Vleuten, the defending champion, who’s fifth.
“I’ve no clue why I get this penalty,” Vollering advised Cyclingnews.
“I couldn’t cross when there are two traces of vehicles subsequent to one another. I dare to not cross as a result of it is so harmful”
“I by no means knew that this was forbidden, to come back after a mechanical.”
Kopecky stated her team-mate’s punishment was “astonishing.”
“This penalty is simply too extreme,” stated Kopecky. “Demi took shelter after struggling a puncture, not as a result of she was in issue.”
South African Ashleigh Moolman jumped to second, 49sec behind Kopecky.
Bauernfeind, in her first season on the elite skilled degree, was overjoyed after turning into the youngest stage winner within the two-year historical past of the occasion.
“It is incredible,” the 23-year-old German advised Eurosport.
Bauernfeind broke away on a brief climb with 36km to go after which held on as the primary contenders within the chasing pack waited for others to guide the pursuit.
She completed 22 seconds forward of Swiss rider Marlen Reusser and compatriot Liane Lippert with Kopecky fourth, one other 10 seconds again, on the head of the pack.
Bauernfeind, simply 1.66m (5-foot-4) tall, additionally gave her Canyon workforce a primary large win after that they had hunted down an early breakaway.
“An unbelievable workforce trip we needed to chase the primary group as a result of I missed it,” she stated. “Then it was as much as me and I attempted to assault and it labored out.”
On Friday, the peloton will journey from Albi to Blagnac on a largely flat 122km route that ought to favour the sprinters.
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