Rookie Ricarda Bauernfeind broke away to take the fifth stage of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes on Thursday, and Lotte Kopecky finished at the front of the chasing pack to keep the overall lead.

"It's fantastic. Wow!" Bauernfeind told Eurosport at the finish, after becoming the youngest stage winner in the two-year history of the event.

In her first season at the elite professional level, the 23-year-old German broke away on a short climb with 36 kilometers to go and then held on as the main contenders in the chasing pack waited for others to lead the pursuit.

Bauernfeind finished 22 seconds ahead of Swiss rider Marlen Reusser and compatriot Liane Lippert. Leader Belgian Kopecky was fourth, another 10 seconds back, at the head of the pack.

Demi Vollering fell from second to seventh, penalized 20 seconds for drafting behind the team car after dropping back from the peloton early in the stage. She slipped 12 seconds behind her great Dutch rival Annemiek van Vleuten, who is fifth.

South African Ashleigh Moolman jumped to second, 49 seconds behind Kopecky.

Bauernfeind, just 1.66 meters (5-foot-4) tall, also gave her Canyon team a first big win after they had hunted down an early breakaway.

"An incredible team ride," she said. "We had to chase the first group because I missed it. Then it was up to me. I tried to attack, and it worked out."

The day after the longest stage of the race, several riders dropped out.

Dutch sprinter Lorena Wiebes, the winner of Stage 3 on Tuesday, was unable to start Stage 5 complaining of digestive problems. Swede Jenny Rissveds and Norwegian Mie Bjorndal Ottestad, both victims of crashes the day before, also did not start.

French rider Evita Muzic, eighth overall last year and 14th this time, gave up after just a few kilometers with stomach pains. Canadian Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin also withdrew.

On Friday, the peloton will travel from Albi to Blagnac on a largely flat 122-kilometer route that should favor the sprinters.