Team Visma-Lease a Bike is trying to diffuse potential tensions with Jonas Vingegaard after his wife Trine Marie openly criticized the team's training methods in an interview with Danish newspaper Politiken.

The Danish champion's wife has expressed concern about the sacrifices the family must make, with the team aiming to win the Tour de France again and requiring Vingegaard to undertake long periods of training at altitude, limiting his time with his wife and children.

'I think Visma is pushing him too hard now. I think he's burning energy on both sides,' Trine said. 'Jonas needs to recharge to perform at his best. The team wants him to win the Tour, so he plans everything to get there in the best possible way. That means a lot of altitude training, but Jonas doesn't recharge when he's away with the team for three weeks. He'd rather be at home with us in Denmark.'

Grischa Niermann, Head of Racing at Visma, played down the conflict: 'I think the situation has been exaggerated a bit. We have a very good relationship with both Jonas and Trine. We always discuss everything together, for example in the winter we decided that Jonas would not go to high altitude in February to be with his family.'

Despite family worries, Vingegaard is showing excellent form in the opening stages of the Tour, confirming that he is 'stronger than ever'. The rider himself commented cautiously: 'There are a lot of training camps and altitude training during the year, so it's tough on family life. But I'm still racing, so at least I haven't had a breakdown.'

The question raises interesting considerations for fantasy cycling fans: how much can these personal aspects affect the performance of a champion? For now Vingegaard seems to be holding up well to the pressure, but it will be important to monitor the situation in the coming weeks of racing.