Stage 5 of the Tour de France was a fast-paced affair in sweltering heat, with nine riders battling to finish within the time limit; the UCI jury reinstated all nine who had initially been ruled out of the race, but Marjolein van de Geloof ( Human Powered Health) said it was not out of compassion.

"We had to stop for the train with 2 km to go. They had to use the time we stopped to sprint to the line. They didn't take pity on us," Van Geloof explained in a Twitter reply.

The modest profile of stage 5 of the Tour de France Femmes confirmed the difficulty of the 126.1-km trek from Honay-le-Chateau to Albi. With temperatures near 30°C, a tough 178 km stage on his back, and a sharp start, the peloton collapsed midway through the stage.

When the climb ended and Ricarda Bauernfind (Canyon-SRAM) took the stage win, there were only 33 riders left in the first group. The next group was about 12 minutes behind and the third group was over 17 minutes behind.

Nine riders finished 24:22 behind the stage winner: Anastasia Kolesava and Marie-Morgaine Le Denf (Arkea Pro Cycling), Maria Julia Confarronnelli (Uno X), Lotte Hentala (AG) Insurance Soudal Quickstep), Babette van der Wolf (Lifeplus Wahoo), Van Gerouf and Alice Burns (Human Powered Health), Jeanne Kolevar (Rib Racing Techfind), India Grange ( Team Corp Hi-Tech Products).

Initially considered 1:53 behind and 22:29 off the time limit, the UCI jury found that the riders had been stopped 2:10 by a passing train.

After deducting the time spent waiting for the train to pass, the riders were reinstated, but the actual finishing time was reflected in the overall standings.