REIMS, France -- Vincenzo Nibali is growing comfortable in his yellow jersey. Brandon Marshall Jersey . Hes not taking the Tour de France lead for granted, though. Despite the stunning departure of reigning champion Chris Froome in a crash the day before, the Italian says hes "afraid" of two-time champ Alberto Contador, and senses other contenders are looking for opportunities to strip him of cyclings most coveted jersey. Nibali took another, if small, step on Thursday toward the Tour crown by maintaining his lead as the pack arrived in Reims -- whose famed Cathedral hosted many French coronations -- in a drizzly and crash-marred sixth stage won by German sprint specialist Andre Greipel. Nibali, who has won cyclings two other Grand tours -- the Spanish Vuelta and Italian Giro -- made it five straight days in the yellow shirt that he hopes to take home when the race ends on the Champs-Elysees on July 27. Its still very early, though, and the race has only had one real climbing day so far: Far tougher up-and-down days are ahead this weekend in the Vosges mountains, in the Alps in week two, and the Pyrenees in week three. But Nibali says he is "calm" and feeling good physically, his Astana team is the best-performing squad so far, and several rival teams have been losing riders to crashes. "Im still afraid of Contador," said Nibali, adding that he expects the Spaniard and other yellow jersey aspirants to attack when the race enters the eastern Vosges range on Saturday -- culminating with a tough uphill finish in Mondays Stage 10. "Its true that you can lose a lot of energy defending the yellow jersey, but Ive been riding well," Nibali said through a translator. "Its a heavy task to wear it ... (but) to have the jersey could be a little advantage in the coming stages. Well take it day by day." Contador, a day after losing about 2 1/2 minutes to Nibali on a muddy ride over cobblestones, was dealt another setback on Thursday: His Saxo-Tinkoff teammate Jesus Hernandez, who was expected to help him up the climbs, dropped out after a crash that left him dazed on the roadside. Richie Porte, who inherited the leadership of Team Sky after Froome quit, also lost a teammate. Spanish veteran Xabier Zandio was taken to hospital with a suspected broken rib and severe back injury from a group spill with about 79 kilometres left. The race medical report listed a total of 14 riders with varying injuries from "two big crashes." "It was such a stressful day -- horrible actually," Porte said, crediting support from his team. "The guys were around me all day, and while we lost Xabi Zandio to the crash, the rest of us kept out of trouble and we live to fight another day." Greipel, the Germany champion, collected his sixth career Tour stage win ahead of Norways Alexander Kristoff in second and Frances Samuel Dumoulin in third over the 194-kilometre (120-mile) ride. Greipels job got easier after countryman Marcel Kittel, who has dominated the sprints this year, got a late flat. "I had really good punch today, I am really happy," said Greipel, a Lotto Belisol rider who turns 32 next Wednesday. "Of course Im not looking at Kittel. I dont need to hide. I am still one of the fastest in the bunch. "There was a lot of pressure on us, on my shoulders. Its a big relief for us." The top of the standings didnt change, as most of the contenders for victory in the three-week race trailed close behind the muscular Greipel. He was not a challenger for the overall title; like many sprinters, he does not fare well on the climbs that are crucial to winning in Paris. Hes 37 1/2 minutes behind Nibali. Overall, Nibali has a two-second lead over Danish teammate Jakob Fuglsang. Peter Sagan of Slovakia was third, 44 seconds back. Porte, an Australian, was another 70 seconds back in eighth place. American Andrew Talansky, who won the Criterium du Dauphine in June, was ninth, 2:05 behind Nibali. Spaniard Alejandro Valverde was 10th, 2:11 back, and Contador was in 18th, 2:37 behind. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was tied for 86th in the stage and 132nd overall, 33:35 off the lead. Christian Meier, also from Langley, was tied for 145th in the stage and was 154th overall, 38:45 back. With the Tour giving a nod to 100 years since the start of World War I, French President Francois Hollande honoured the fallen and took a ride with race director Christian Prudhomme on Thursday. The Tour chief led a ceremony honouring 1909 winner Francois Faber, one of three winners of early Tours who died in the war. Stage 7 on Friday will be the Tours second longest, another mostly flat 234.5-kilometre (146-mile) trek from Epernay to Nancy. Matt Forte Jets Jersey .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova. LaDainian Tomlinson Womens Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.Im going to talk margins in todays blog. The knife-edged difference between success and failure. Moments in a game, and in a season that can swing your fortunes dramatically - especially in a league like MLS. There were one or two of those in the World Cup Final. A bad back pass here, a post hit off a corner there, with the stakes infinitely higher for both Germany and Argentina. In the end, one brilliant moment 117 minutes in will be remembered for a lifetime in Deutschland. A priceless memory, even though with even the slightest of variables, it could have been so much different. As the Whitecaps reach half-time on their 2014 campaign, think for a moment about how Caps supporters are feeling today, compared with how they might have felt had their team managed to beat Chivas USA on Saturday night. With three points, Vancouver would be sitting second in the West alongside Real Salt Lake, with a four-point cushion above the playoff bar. They would have also been two points ahead of last years pace - an impressive achievement given Carl Robinsons dependence on youth. Instead, the Whitecaps sit in fifth - two points behind last years pace - with the LA Galaxy, Chivas and Portland bearing down in the rear-view mirror. There you have the margins in an MLS season. Then there are the defining ones within a game. Carlyle Mitchell found a yard of space in the penalty area before nodding home his first MLS goal between Dan Kennedys legs. The cross from Pedro Morales had to be inch perfect. Johnny Leveron lost his man for one second, and Agustin Pelletieri equalized from a Chivas corner. That corner itself appeared contentious, until further review when the ball appeared to havve just marginally brushed off the top of Steven Beitashours head. Darrelle Revis Womens Jersey. A twinge of irony too, as it was Pelletieri who was sent off in the two teams earlier meeting in Carson. The decision was probably incorrect, but the Whitecaps couldnt take advantage on that day. Jordan Harvey was one second late and one yard behind his tackle on Oswaldo Minda, and was sent off. Nigel Reo Cokers right foot was one inch too open, and his side-footed effort from an Erik Hurtado cutback was a yard wide from giving Vancouver the lead. Erick Torres found an extra yard of space, and he took full advantage as the 21-year-old Mexican scored a remarkable 13th goal, and a fourth straight game winner. Think about his value to the Goats having contributed 65 per cent of their goals this season. And Dan Kennedy had at least four fingers and part of a palm on top of the ball that sat on his goal-line, before Morales poked it in during second half stoppage time. Just enough to be considered "in control" of the ball under the FIFA laws. The problem for Coach Robinson right now is that he needs two players to swing some of those critical moments in his favour. The challenge is, some quick math will tell you there isnt a whole lot of margin on the payroll to add the elite central defender and certified goal poacher that can swing more moments in the Whitecaps direction. Saturday ended the Whitecaps eight-game sellout run. Would another second half season slump turn people off? The decisions Whitecaps brass make in these next few weeks may ultimately decide the margin of error between playoff soccer, and another off-season of "what-ifs" in Van City. 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