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LE LIORAN, France -- The expected battle between Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana at the Tour de France has been put on hold for at least a couple of days.The leading contenders had a relatively quiet day in the races first medium mountain stage Wednesday, content to let Greg van Avermaet complete a successful solo attack and take the overall leaders yellow jersey. The Belgian rider is not in contention to finish top of the general classification, or GC, when the race ends in Paris.For us its just about winning the GC and Chris was comfortable. It was not really a day for the big GC guys, said Geraint Thomas, Froomes top support rider at Sky. Obviously some guys lost a bit of time but for Froomey it was just about staying at the front, staying calm and not losing any time to anybody.Two-time winner Alberto Contador and 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali both lost time over the demanding route through the Massif Central.Contador finished 33 seconds behind the other overall favorites while Nibali -- who won the Giro dItalia in May -- lost more than eight minutes, putting an end to his chances of overall victory.Its just a handful of seconds here, Thomas said. You cant write Contador off. Obviously its a bonus, but we certainly dont take anything for granted.Still, its looking more and more like a battle between Froome, the defending and two-time champion from Britain, and two-time runner-up Quintana from Colombia.Van Avermaet was part of an early nine-man breakaway and he methodically whittled down the group before accelerating past fellow Belgian Thomas De Gendt with 17 kilometers (10 miles) to go on the penultimate climb of the day.The 31-year-old Van Avermaet also won a stage in last years Tour and is known as a specialist at single-day classics and short stage races, having won Paris-Tours in 2011 and the Tirreno-Adriatico this year.Its special for me. Its the best jersey in the world. Its my first time and perhaps the last so I will enjoy every moment, Van Avermaet said. Its the best moment of my career. Winning a stage is already quite something but this takes it to another level.The 216-kilometer (134-mile) fifth stage from Limoges to Le Lioran featured five climbs in a constant up-and-down finish, including the 1,589-meter (5,213-foot) Pas de Peyrol.It was the first time that the Tour reached above 1,500 meters this early in the race since the leg-breaking start to the 1979 edition, which began with three stages in the Pyrenees over the first four days.Nibali was dropped on the Peyrol along with world champion Peter Sagan, who was wearing the yellow jersey for a third day.Sagan still has the green points jersey but he fell to 76th overall, more than 23 minutes behind.I dont care about it. Cest la vie, Sagan said, using a French phrase that translates to Thats life.De Gendt finished second in the stage, 2:35 behind and Rafal Majka of Poland, the 2014 King of the Mountains, crossed third, 5:04 back.In the overall standings, Van Avermaet holds a lead of 5:11 over rising French rider Julian Alaphilippe, with Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde third, 5:13 behind.Froome is fifth, 5:17 behind, and Quintana is seventh with the same time.Contador, who fell twice in each of the opening two stages, is 25th, 6:38 back.I knew it would be hard, Contador said. The two crashes really hurt. Im still aching. Its not easy to recover. But Im hanging in there.Van Avermaet does not consider himself a threat for the overall title. He plans to support BMC captains Tejay van Garderen and Richie Porte in the Pyrenees and Alps.Its good to have good morale in the team and to take the pressure off, Van Avermaet said. The main goal for us is having Tejay or Richie on the podium in Paris.On a sunny and pleasant day with the temperature at about 20 degrees Celsius (70 Fahrenheit), fans -- many of them wearing polka-dot King of the Mountains jerseys -- lined the road in large numbers leading up to the Le Lioran ski resort.The most important thing was not crashing, because the descents were tricky and the pavement was melting, Van Avermaet said. It was good to stay concentrated and enjoy the last kilometer. Its kind of strange because Im a sprinter and usually you cannot enjoy the finish so much.Stage 6 Thursday is a flatter 190.5-kilometer (118-mile) leg from Arpajon-sur-Cere to Montauban. The next mountain stages come this weekend in the Pyrenees, although the Tour may not be decided until the race reaches the Alps in the third week. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. 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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Andy Reid has been around long enough to know that focusing on the playoffs with three games left in the regular season is foolish, a trap that can derail a team capable of much bigger things.He also knows something about human nature.So, try as he might to stop his Chiefs from pondering what the future could hold on Sunday, the old coach reluctantly acknowledged that everybody on his sideline will be well aware of the stakes.Probably everyone on the Tennessee sideline, too.I know its an important time of the year. I know that. And if youre in the hunt, every game becomes an important game, right? Reid asked. If you can just keep it that simple from a coach and player standpoint, youre doing OK. Its going to get blown up around you, but we dont talk about it.The Chiefs (10-3), tied atop the AFC West after last weeks win over Oakland, are among three teams that can clinch a playoff spot this week. Beating the Titans is the easiest way, but they could back into a playoff spot if things break their way in games involving Denver, Pittsburgh and Miami.But there is more at stake than just the playoffs, which is why Reid and Co. are focused solely on beating the red-hot Titans. They still believe they can earn a first-round bye and the AFCs No. 2 seed.Theres a lot of incentives to put on this game, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said. You want a ticket to the dance. You cant win it unless you get in, so you want to clinch it, for sure.There are nearly as many incentives for the Titans (7-6), who are tied with Houston atop the AFC South. But while the Chiefs are almost certain to make the playoffs as a wild-card if they cant hold off Oakland in the division, the Titans only hope for the postseason may be as a division champ.I know they know the big picture, Titans coach Mike Mularkey said, echoing his counterpart, but Im going to keep them on the same picture weve been on that weve got to win this game. We have to win. We have to go to a tough environment in Kansas City, a team thats playing extremely well, and weve got to win this game or everything else is irrelevant.As two playoff contenders prepare to tangle at Arrowhead Stadium, here are some key story lines:BUNDLE UP: The Chiefs-Raiders game Thursday night ended with temperatures in the low-20s, and thats going too feel balmy.dddddddddddd Snow is in the forecast on Saturday with temps at kickoff Sunday in the low-teens.Probably one of my last college games at Oregon, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota said, it got down into the high-20s. So this will be the coldest game Ive played, for sure.RUN, RUN, RUN: The Titans roll into the game with the leagues third-best rushing offense, buoyed by DeMarco Murrays resurgent season and Derrick Henrys increased role in the offense. And theyll be facing a Chiefs defense missing linebacker Derrick Johnson, who ruptured his Achilles tendon last week.Next man up. Thats what happened with me, Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston said. They played the first eight games this season without me and they did a great job. So its next man up. Im going to pray for him and hope he stays strong. I know hell stay strong. But the next man needs to be prepared.SPEAKING OF RUNNING: The Chiefs have struggled to run the ball for weeks, and much of the shine has worn off Spencer Ware, who was a fantasy football darling through the first six weeks.Its not one person, one scheme. Its been hit or miss on all the different schemes, Reid said. We can tighten it up, and we can give the players some things that might be a little better for what they do.TYREEK THE FREAK: Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill was the AFC special teams player of the week after his punt return touchdown against Oakland. He also caught a TD pass in the game. And with a kick return TD and a TD run, hes the first rookie since Gale Sayers to score each of those ways.I have to give a shoutout to my brothers out there on the field fighting for me, doing everything that theyre supposed to do, Hill said. Without those guys, I wouldnt be standing here in front of you.RED ZONE EFFICIENCY: The Titans are among the best in the NFL at scoring touchdowns in the red zone, while the Chiefs are among the worst. Mariota has thrown 32 TD passes without a pick in those spots.He has a very quick release and theres not a lot of room for error down there, a lot of tight windows, Mularkey said, and I think hes been very good with that.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '