Finishing second and fifth in the opening weekend of the Tour de France may sound like a dream come true for most of the peloton, but the second and third stages of this event were frustrating experiences for Wout Van Aert and Jumbo-Visma

Yonah was the only one to make it to the finish line.

The Dutch team, with Jonas Vingegaard and Van Aert looking for a stage win, suffered near-misses in San Sebastian and Bayonne, and their frustrations surfaced on Sunday afternoon.

Headlines in Belgian newspapers on Sunday evening featured friction within the team and criticism of Vingegaard.

After being eliminated in the second stage, the Belgian star threw down his bike as soon as he reached the team bus and then left the stage alone in the team car. However, on Monday morning, the team denied any tension between the riders.

On Monday morning, Jumbo Visma's sporting director, Arthur van Dongen, told Cycling News that there were "no hard feelings" among the riders and that talk of tension among the team's stars was off the mark.

"There are no hard feelings among the group of riders," Van Dongen said in Amorebieta Eccano before the third stage. 'Some in the press want to create resentment, but that's not the case. Yesterday, Wout was disappointed, not at his teammates, but at missing out on the stage win. Especially after two hard stages here in the Basque Country."

Van Dongen also agreed with what race leader Adam Yates said about the run-in, namely that it makes little sense for climbers to lead out on a flat finish. Van Dongen also noted what race leader Adam Yates said about run-ins.

"With all due respect to the Belgian press, we are an international team. I don't think it makes sense for Jonas to make a gap in the last kilometer because it was a bit of a downhill," van Dongen said.

"I also read that Adam Yates tried to lead out for Pogachal but said it was impossible at 58 kg. The same goes for Jonas. That's all well and good in theory, but in practice it's quite different.

"You can see that I tried to take the initiative and control Wilco, and Teasge, to help each other as much as possible. There are no hard feelings within the team."

Van Dongen also added that what the press said about the team had no impact on the work they are doing this month, nor on their goals in the race.

"We are prepared for that. 'You see a lot of press here that you didn't see at any of the races. It's the Tour de France.

"We know what the riders are talking about on the tables and on the buses. We are here to win the Tour and we are here to win stages.

Van Aert repeated Van Dongen's point almost verbatim to the Belgian media gathered at the autograph signing before stage 3. He also stated that outside criticism of Vingegaard was unwarranted.

"Of course we discussed with the team what happened. We always want to win, and if we don't, we think we could have done better. It was not an easy situation in the final either."

"Jonas created a chance for me to win the championship. If he had worked with Pogachar in Jaizkibel - and we were far behind - I would not have had a chance to win. He could have put a lot of GC candidates behind him there."

"If you look at how it all turned out in the end, Jonas could have done more, but that too is hindsight. This is a race, not a PlayStation. "

Van Aert finished fifth in the sprint after the race was held in France for the first time. He was squeezed between stage winner Jasper Philipsen and the barriers, but at least outwardly he was not as discouraged as he had been 24 hours earlier.

"Sure, it's disappointing because I was so close to winning yesterday and today," he said. But we know the Tour is won or lost. There is still a long way to go and we have achieved our goal."