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The Most Outrageous Backstage Rider Requests Of All Time

Bands' backstage contracts, or riders, can be incredibly amusing for fans. Take the Foo Fighters, for instance; they're a band that has never taken themselves too seriously, and their rider shows it. It's full of ridiculous joke requests for outlandish items and services. Sometimes, though, the nutty stuff isn't just written in for fun. Some celebrity riders truly have shockingly ridiculous requests.

And yes, even the greatest bands of all time have some pretty silly demands. From some not-so-surprising requests - like a stockpile of condoms - to stuff that's truly outrageous - like banning people backstage with a certain name - there have been some really incredible dressing room contract demands over the years. 

• Filipe Vicente
• Wikimedia Commons

Mariah Carey's Demand For 20 Kittens And 100 Doves

With a reputation for being a diva, nothing Mariah Carey demands in her rider should be too much of a shock. One hundred white doves and a dozen kittens, though? That's pretty extra.

Apparently, Carey wanted these animals surrounding her at an appearance to turn on Christmas lights. She didn't get her wish, though, as it was opposed by health and safety officials.

"We did manage to source the doves that we were going to release into the sky, but the kittens proved terribly difficult," an official stated . "In the end, it was made clear that due to health and safety, there was no way we could have the animals at Westfield. We do not allow pets into Westfield - that rule would apply for everyone."

• rodrigoferrari
• CC BY-SA 2.0

Kanye's Cotton Condition

According to a rider from an Australian tour, Kanye West required that his drivers - yes, his drivers -  wear 100% cotton and no other fabric while transporting him from place to place.

That's about as odd a requirement as one could imagine from a pop star at any level. 

Madonna's Personal Furnishings

Madonna is basically pop royalty, and her tour rider pretty much reflects that. She's got some standard diva stuff in there, like personal chefs and whatnot, but there are also quite a few items that are extravagent and shocking. Would you believe Madonna demands a brand-new toilet seat everywhere she goes?

Stuff like that is rumored to be all over her rider, but there's one requirement that really tops them all: She reportedly ships all of her furniture around with her, and demands that any hotel furniture be removed and replaced with her own. That way, anywhere she goes feels like home. 

• jenniferlinneaphotography

Christina Aguilera's Traffic Terms

According to her tour rider, Christina Aguilera isn't a fan of traffic. In fact, she hates it so much that she demands a police escort to every show. The rider stipulates that Christina and her team need to be escorted through traffic , and that "under no circumstances are the vehicles to be allowed to encounter any delays due to traffic."

That's a pretty intense thing to ask of both a concert promoter and local police. 

• Antje Naumann
• CC BY-SA 3.0

Slayer's '100 Snow-White Goats'

Slayer's tour rider might get the prize for the weirdest of all time - even though it's very clearly a joke. The metal band requests a variety of outlandish things in their rider, including 50,000 live bees, 10 cases of Gogurt, a Bowflex, a human skull filled with Red Hots, and more.

The thing that makes it the greatest rider ever? Their request for "100 snow-white goats for slaughter." That's a metal rider if there ever was one.

• Eva Rinaldi

Katy Perry's Flower Embargo

Katy Perry has some pretty specific demands for her floral arrangements backstage - namely, an absolute disdain for carnations. The "Firework" singer apparently asks for "white and purple hydrangeas, pink & white roses and peonies" but makes it clear in all caps (and underlined) that "ABSOLUTELY NO CARNATIONS" are allowed. 

Aside from that flower request, Perry's rider stipulates that drivers are under no circumstances allowed to talk to her while she's being escorted, nor are they allowed to even look at her in the rearview mirror. 

Axl Rose's Square Melon

Axl Rose became notorious for his antics and aggressive behavior on stage and off. None of that, however, tops perhaps the strangest thing he's ever done: request a square melon in his tour rider.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Guns N' Roses singer reportedly requested on his rider that venues provide him with a square-shaped melon - something that apparently exists. According to reports, the melon is described as an item that "absolutely can't be missed." 

• Gage Skidmore

NSYNC's 'Toy' Room

In the backstage rider for NSYNC's world tour, there were plenty of standard items that you'd expect to see on just about any artist's request list. On one page of the rider, however, there was a request for a particularly interesting room alongside standard catering and dressing rooms:  a toy room .

At the time, the members of NSYNC were fairly young, but a toy room still seems unusual. What kind of toys were present in this room? One can only imagine. 

• Joella Marano

Jay-Z's Vintage Maybach With Tinted Windows

When you're Jay-Z, you can pretty much demand anything on the road without question, so it's not totally shocking that he wants the absolute best ground transportation anywhere he goes. In particular, he's requested a black '57 or '62 Maybach with tinted windows.

Also featured in Mr. Beyonce's rider: expensive champagne and a dressing room stocked with booze of all different kinds. 

• Piotr Drabik

Brandon Flowers's Precise Schedule For Food And Beverages

The Killers' Brandon Flowers might not seem like the kind of guy to have an odd tour rider demand. According to his solo rider, however, Flowers demands a certain schedule in which his food and beverages will be provided on certain days. Essentially, he bans certain foods from certain days of the week.

In the rider, Flowers's representative says he eats certain preserves only on certain days of the week. Sundays and Tuesdays are reserved for strawberry, for example. Flowers eats apricot preserves on Mondays and Thursdays, and he saves red raspberry jam for Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, according to The Smoking Gun . 

• Anirudh Koul

Van Halen's Infamous M&M Ban

Perhaps the most notorious and well-known rider demand in the history of rock and roll, Van Halen's brown M&M's stipulation is actually quite practical and done for a sensible reason. (It's still pretty outrageous, though, if you consider the fact that every single venue had to adhere to these exact demands.)

The story goes that the band, whose shows had intense production and technical specifications that could be immense safety hazards, decided to test production staff at venues in order to gauge whether the technical aspects were up to their standard. If the venue complied with Van Halen's request, and there were indeed  no brown M&M's in their candy bowl, the band knew that the production met all their standards for safety and technical specifications.

• CC BY-SA 4.0

The Stones' 'Well Groomed' Hostess Requirement

It's easy to give the Rolling Stones a pass on pretty much anything questionable in their tour rider, given that they're one of the most legendary and longest-running bands of all time. That said, one particular request is definitely eyebrow-raising.

According to reports, on their 1997-'98 world tour, the band required that "two smartly-dressed, well groomed hostesses" meet them in their dressing rooms to serve them food. Apparently, it's not as dirty as it sounds; they literally wanted well-dressed female waitresses at their service upon their arrival at the venue.

• DoD News Features

Rihanna's Animal Print Throw Rug

A 2010 rider request from singer Rihanna went viral after it was revealed that she demanded an animal print throw rug at every venue. 

The rider specifies : "1 Large throw rug, plush and animal print (Cheetah, Leopard), must be CLEAN, as she will walk on it barefoot." The pop star also called for six very specific candles: Archipelago Black Forest Candles.

• Diego DeNicola

Gnarls Barkley's Magnum Condoms

Gnarls Barkley made some really incredible music, and they took advantage of their fame and popularity by asking for some essentials in their tour rider. Namely, the duo wanted blunts and bottles of Hennessy and Grey Goose vodka. They also required a box of magnum condoms .

The musicians are far from the only ones to request these particular prophylactics. Other stars like Busta Rhymes and 50 Cent have also demanded condoms on the road. 

• Nat Ch Villa

Beyonce's Backstage Temperature

Turns out, Beyonce is pretty sensitive to temperature. Or at least that appears to be the case, according to a leaked rider. Among such demands, like all white furniture and two bars of Irish Spring soap, Queen Bey insists that the temperature in her dressing room should be a comfortable 72 degrees at all times. 

All in all, her rider is pretty tame for one of the most successful pop stars of all time. But it raises the question: What happens if the temperature is a couple degrees off? 

• Frank Schwichtenberg

Pharrell's Carl Sagan Stipulation 

Pharrell Williams has acknowleged his love for the late Carl Sagan numerous times, explaining that he's got a deep admiration for the legendary astronomer and cosmologist. Taking his love for Sagan one step further, Williams reportedly requests a photo of Sagan in his dressing room . 

"I can only aspire to be someone that people learn as much from as they learned from Carl Sagan. Carl Sagan is to me what A Tribe Called Quest was to [N*E*R*D] for music," Williams said in an interview about Sagan's influence on him. 

AC/DC's Oxygen Masks

It's pretty unclear as to why AC/DC would need oxygen tanks and masks on tour, but apparently they do. According to a 2008 rider, the band requested tanks and masks in addition to some pretty reasonable requests, including "fun size" candy bars and a case of beer.

The beer wasn't allowed in dressing rooms before the show, however. Perhaps because they were filling up on oxygen?

• David Carroll

Cher's Wig Room

It shouldn't be surprising that Cher would have a wig room in her backstage rider . The pop star's hair has become a major part of her performances. That said, imagine being such a big star, with so many wigs, that you require an entire room dedicated to them just for your show.

• monstershaq2000's

Ne-Yo's Ketel One Cleanser 

For whatever reason, Ne-Yo likes to have a bottle of  Ketel One  handy for cleaning. Yes, the R&B star reportedly requests the popular vodka in every city so that he can use it to clean something, though precisely what is unknown. Clothes, jewelry, microphones?

It's unclear as to why he specifically requires Ketel One, or why he doesn't just have someone take care of his drycleaning, but to each their own.

• Brett Robson – Global Photographics

One Direction's Homemade Desserts

It turns out that everyone's favorite short-lived boy band had a collective sweet tooth. One Direction reportedly required an array of "homemade"  desserts backstage, in addition to local fast food depending on where they were (Chick-fil-A or KFC, etc.). 

Apparently, Niall Horan's favorite dessert is profiteroles (cream puffs, for American readers). 

• Michael Morel

Jack White's Guac Recipe

Rocker Jack White went viral after his tour rider leaked and revealed an unorthodox request. Sure, there were some essentials and some unsurprising requirements like specific foods and beverages, but White also included a recipe in his rider for guacamole. According to reports, he requires that the recipe be made prior to his arrival.

In an interview with NPR, chef Martin Morales said he tried the recipe and approved of White's favorite guac. "It's down to the fresh ingredients and the timing of the way each ingredient is put together," Morales said. 

Iggy Pop's Preferred Newspaper

Iggy Pop has become known for his backstage riders, which are filled with outlandish requests that are sometimes completely bonkers.

One of the silliest  stipulations in Pop's rider is that he requires an English-language newspaper like  The New York Times -  but also notes that he'd be okay with USA Today if there's a "story about morbidly obese people" in it.

Truly the work of an old-school punk rocker who doesn't take himself too seriously. 

• loveyousave

Britney Spears's Cheeseburgers Without The Buns

At a show in London, Britney Spears apparently requested a photo of the late Princess Diana for her dressing room, as well as fish and chips and some other stereotypically British things. The Diana photo, a source said, was because she "adores the monarchy."

"Diana was in many ways her inspiration," the source explained . Spears also requested McDonald's cheeseburgers, minus the buns. 

• Photos By Alyssa

50 Cent's Pork Ban

50 Cent's rider seems pretty standard, with food and beverage requests, though he apparently doesn't like pork at all.

A leaked rider revealed that the rapper completely banned pork from anywhere in his vicinity at all times. He did, however, welcome a couple boxes of Lifestyles Rough Riders condoms.

• Jim Pietryga

The Rolling Stones' Written Instructions

Sometimes it's easy to forget that the Rolling Stones are old, since they've been touring nonstop for half a century. But, if you need a reminder that they're most certainly aging rockers, look no further than their tour rider.

In their list of venue requirements, the band reportedly specifies that they need written instructions for all electronics in their dressing rooms to ensure that the members know how to use them properly. In other words, they're not very technologically savvy. 

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The most bananas stories and insane 100% true tales about the lives and behind-the-music antics of your favorite rock stars and legendary bands.

The 20 most ridiculous things superstar musicians have demanded at their concerts

Van Halen demanded all the brown M&M's be removed  from the group's candy bowl. Turns out that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to music stars' backstage demands.

Outlets like  The Smoking Gun  and Defamer have reported on a variety of leaked backstage documents  known as tour riders. A tour rider sets the terms that a venue must fulfill for an artist's performance. We sifted through 20 such riders to see what major musicians want in their dressing rooms. It can get pretty weird.

Some requests may confirm diva suspicions — as with Kanye West's various requests for a barber's chair and a Coke and Hennessy slushy machine. But we were more surprised by other requests, like one rap star who demanded Lunchables.

From specific scented candles to organic honey bans, see what the biggest artists ask for backstage:

Beyoncé demands her dressing room be kept at 78 degrees and asks for chicken legs "HEAVILY SEASONED" with cayenne pepper  and rose-scented candles . And don't have Coca-Cola products anywhere near her — Beyoncé can only be seen with Pepsi products due to a contractual agreement. The Demands:

1 Large table for catering dressed with white tablecloths. Dressing room should be 78 degrees 4 Brand New White Towels in bathroom (2 face & 2 body)

Hot Food:  Juicy Baked Chicken: Legs, Wings & Breast only (Please season with fresh garlic, season salt, black pepper, and Cayenne pepper HEAVILY SEASONED!!) Steamed Garlic Broccoli Lightly Seasoned Green Beans Lightly Seasoned Steamed Spinach 

Beyoncé can only have Pepsi products. 1 Case of Aquafina water (half cold, half room temperature) 1 Hot Tea Set up (Please have NEW Coffee Pot) Sliced Lemons Wedges Rose scented candles Lighter for candles CD player 

Adele 's many requests include chicken salad sandwiches, Marlboro Lights, the "best quality" red wine, and six metal teaspoons in her dressing room. She also bans organic honey. The Demands :  12 Small bottles still (non-carbonated) spring water (at room temperature) 1 Electric kettle for BOILING water 6 Large mugs for tea. All mugs should be new, washed and dried. 6 metal teaspoons 2 "Squeezy" bottles clear honey (not organic)  1 Bottle very best quality red wine (Italian, French or Spanish) 1 Assortment of chewing gum 1 Pack Marlboro Light plus 1 disposable cigarette lighter 1 Small selection fresh fruit, to include bananas, apples, grapes, fresh berries NO CITRUS FRUIT! 1 Small plate of assorted freshly made, individually wrapped sandwiches, to include chicken salad. Sandwiches must NOT contain tomatoes, vinegar, chili or citrus fruit  

Among Kanye 's previous requests are a barber's chair, Carmex lip balm, shower shoes, and a lot of alcohol. On his most recent "Saint Pablo" tour, West demanded a slushy machine with mixes of Coke and Hennessy and Grey Goose and lemonade.

The Demands:

1 Tub Plain Yogurt for dipping 4 small Yoplait Yogurt  1 Bowl of assorted nuts 1 Bowl of Sunkist Salted Pistachio Nuts (No Red Coloring) 2 Packs of Extra Chewing Gum 1 Bottle of Hot Sauce (Tabasco, Caribbean Type) 1 Box of Toothpicks 1 750 ml bottle of Hennessey Liquor 1 750 ml bottle of SKY or Absolut Vodka 1 Bottle of Patron Silver Tequila 4 Six Packs of Heineken Beer

The  singer  insists on blue or black drapes layered with "icy-blue chiffon." Rihanna also needs an animal-print throw rug and has a very specific candle request. 

5 AC power outlets Adequate lighting for a "relaxed atmosphere" White drapes to cover lockers and/or brick 1 Humidifier 1 Large throw rug — plush and animal print (Cheetah, Leopard) … must be CLEAN, as she will walk on it barefoot. Pipe and Drape the room in Dark Blue or Black drapes with Icy Blue Chiffon draped nicely on top 6 Candles — Archipelago Black Forest (if you can't get these, please let me know ASAP as we have a 2nd choice of candle for Ri). 4 Small, clear, square vases with White Tulips, no foliage (2nd choice: White Casablanca Lilies no foliage, 3rd choice: White Freesia, no foliage)

Don't bring Katy Perry carnations. In addition to very specific flower rules, the "Teenage Dream" singer's food list is quite specific, complete with freeze-dried strawberries and Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio.  

Arrangement of pink fresh flowers. White and purple hydrangeas, pink & white roses and peonies. If not available, seasonal white flowers to include white orchids–ABSOLUTELY NO CARNATIONS. A box of Huggies baby nature care wipes 6 Vitamin waters zero, assorted flavors Bowl of whole fresh organic grown fruit (apples, bananas, oranges and grapes) Plate of fresh-cut Crudités (to include cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snap peas, celery) w/ ranch dip Snyder's of Hanover Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Jar of Salsa Baked (blue corn if possible) Tortilla Chips Freeze dried strawberries 2 bottles of Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio Throat coat, Twinnings Chamomile PG tips and Mint medley tea. Fuze slenderize assorted flavors A jar of quality honey Plastic drinking straws

Sir Paul McCartney

The animal-rights supporter bans fur, leather, and meat from his dressing room. The Beatle is also big with plants.

The Demands:  All lamps must be halogen floor lamps with dimmer switch. Only animal free materials (cottons, denims, velour, etc.) Do not provide furniture made of any animal skin or print. Do not provide artificial versions of animal skin or print either. No leather seating is allowed in the black stretch limousine either. Arrange for a dry cleaner before arrival. 6 Full and leafy floor plants, but no trees. We want plants that are just as full on the bottom as the top such as palm, bamboo, peace lilies, etc. No tree trunks! $50.00 - One large arrangement of white Casablanca lilies with lots of foliage. $40.00 - One long stemmed arrangement of pale pink and white roses with lots of foliage. $35 One arrangement of freesia. It comes in various colors so please mix them up. Freesia is a favorite. 20 dozen clean towels outside of the production office.

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey 's list includes eight "tall, leafy plants," Joe Malone vanilla candles, two vases of white roses, and drapes around every perimeter.

Each room must be draped. Black drapes are fine. The entry door should open into the living room space, not the dressing room. Temperature should be about 75 degrees. 1 Three Seat Couch — Plain Color, no busy patterns; black, dark grey, cream, dark pink are fine 12 1 Liters of Fiji Water 3 Bottles Chardonnay — Chilled 12 Coke 12 Diet Coke 12 Vanilla Protein Drinks 6 Sparkling Water (Pellegrino) 12 Melon Flavor Gatorade 6 Red Wine Glasses 6 White Wine Glasses 4 Joe Malone Vanilla Candles 2 Vases White Roses Fried Chicken (warm) 12 Small Bottles water (room temperature) 3 Whole lemons and honey Sugarless gum

The "Rap God" isn't too high-maintenance . Other than fruit, food, and drinks, he just wants access to some weights to work out. Make sure Marshall Mathers also has a CD player that can play burned CDs and some Lunchables. 

The Demands: 

25 pound dumbbells 24-Diet Coke 16oz plastic bottles 12 Diet Coke 12oz cans 6 Verner ginger ale soda (or Schweppes) 48 Daisani, Poland Spring 12oz bottles "NO Evian" 1 Loaf white bread  1 Loaf wheat bread 6 Lunchables snacks (3 turkeys & 3 ham with cheese) 6 Cans Red Bull 16 Cans Sugar-Free Red Bull Large fresh jumbo shrimps with cocktail sauce and plenty of lemons 1 Jar of banana pepper rings

Grace Jones

The '70s and '80s legend Grace Jones wants oysters and insists that she will do "her own shucking" of her requested molluscs, according to the following excerpt of her tour rider list leaked by Defamer . She also needs a lot of very specific wine bottles.

6 Bottles of Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne 3 Bottles of French Vintage red wine (e.g. St Emilion, Medoc, Bordeaux) 3 Bottles of French Vintage white wine (e.g. Sancerre, Pouilly Fuisse) 2 Dozen Findeclare or Colchester Oysters on ice (unopened)—(Grace does her own shucking.) 2 Sashimi and Sushi platters for 8 people 6 Fresh lemons 1 Bottle of Tabasco sauce 1 Fresh fruit platter for 8 people 6 Bottles of Coca Cola 12 Bottles of still and sparkling water 12 Bottles of fresh fruit juices Wine glasses, champagne flutes, tumblers (all glass, no plastic) Cutlery and sharp knife 1 Oyster knife 1 Make up mirror (no neon strip lighting, only opaque white bulbs) Fresh towels, clothes hangers, clothes rail 3-4 Bunches of flowers—prefer lilys and orchids Sofa and arm chairs

According to Complex , Drake requests two specific brands of body care items: Nivea chapstick and Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap, which he says " tingles the body and clears the mind."

Four dozen natural-scented incense sticks  Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap Pork-free food E-Z Wider rolling papers and a pack of Dutch Master President cigars Pinot Grigio Heineken B ottles of Jack Daniel’s Patron Silver tequila

Nivea chapstick

A  bottle of Hennesey or Courvoisier Grey Goose Andis T-Outliner trimmers Extra sets of speakers

Jack White's rider made headlines last year for its explicit "no banana policy" — which White later attributed to an allergy on his touring team — and its inclusion of a highly specific homemade guacamole recipe. 

1 dozen chicken wings (buffalo, teryaki, suprise us) 1 bowl of FRESH HOME-MADE GUACAMOLE (recipe below ) 8 champagne flutes (real glass) 8 wine glasses (real glass) 8 highball glasses (real glass) 1 hummus & pita chips iPod player with sufficient volume control NO fluorescent lighting PLEASE NOTE: This is a NO BANANA TOUR. (Seriously)

Madonna's brief yet complex tour rider list reportedly requires room for her 200-person entourage and 20 international phone lines to call friends in other countries, according to Complex .

200-person entourage 2o international phone lines Her backstage room must look exactly like her own home (that means she ships around her furniture) Special flower-scented fabric Actual flowers Personal chef who prepares only vegan foods Her own dry-cleaning service

Alicia Keys

Give all the room-temperature Evian (and Aquafina) water to Alicia Keys . The singer asks for chocolate almond milk, tuna sandwiches, and specific Glade candle scents.

The Demands:   7 sets of metal silverware 1 Lighter 3 Glade Candles (French Vanilla, Rain shower, Wild Berry, Tangerine Ginger) 3 Cans of Chunk White Tuna 10 Nutri-Grain Bars (Blueberry, Cherry, Apple, Strawberry) 6 Individual Packets of Quaker Oats Instant Oatmeal (Brown Sugar and Apple Cinnamon) 1 Assorted Fruit Platter with strawberries, seedless red grapes, bananas, mango, blueberries, cantaloupe and raspberries 2 Cases of beer (one imported and one domestic; brands preferred: Amstel Light, Corona, Bud, Bud Light or local beer) 3 menus for local seafood and Italian restaurants to order meals for Alicia

Jay Z 's rider requires a confounding seven separate dressing rooms, as well as "good quality" peanut butter and jelly and a clean bucket of ice. 

The Demands: 7 Dressing Rooms Desired room temperature of 72 degrees 1 Love Seat 1 Large Couch 2 Matching End Tables 2 48 Cases of Fiji Water (24 cold/24 room temperature) 6 Cans of Coca-Cola 6 Cans of Red Bull 6 Bottles of Vitamin Water 1 Jar of good quality peanut butter 1 Jar of good quality grape jelly 1 Hot tea service for 4: hot water kettle, ceramic and disposable cups All requests for alcohol were shaved from the list.

Mary J. Blige

R&B legend  Mary J. Blige will not use a "public" toilet, in any sense of the word. Her rider list requires a "private toilet (with new toilet seat)." 

2 Humidifiers 10 medium prewashed bath sized towels NO DAIRY OR PORK OF ANY KIND!! 10 1.5 liter bottles of FIJI water (absolutely, positively must be FIJI) 6 cans of Diet Dr. Pepper 6 cans of Schweeps Ginger Ale 2 packs of Mentos — cinnamon fresh only 6 cans of Red Bull energy drink 6 bottles of Black Cherry Propells in sports bottle 8 sets of silverware 24 napkins 1 tub of clean ice

Break out the blenders for Mother Monster . Gaga gets an entire smoothie station in her dressing room.  The Demands:  2 Bottles of white wine with wine opener — Kendall Jackson or Robert Mondavi preferred 1 Pack of Straws 1 Cushioned office style chair TV with cable and a DVD player 1 Rolling clothing rack  4 Unscented candles Cool-mist humidifier 3 fans Tea kettle, organic ginger and lemongrass tea and honey are very important. 1 4 pack of Red Bull Light (on ice) 2 Bottles of Green Tea 1 Container of Guacamole Hot dogs (Yves veggie dogs eaten with toothpicks) A smoothie station (with frozen berries, fuze and whey protein or non-fat Greek yogurt) Blender needed 1 Plate of cheese (non-smelly, non-sweaty on ice) with whole wheat/healthy crackers A mix of assorted fresh fruit (cut and must have edible skin OR edible seeds OR citrus)

Cher 's extensive (and dated) list from a 1999 tour demands a "wig room," rooms for her male and female dancers, and one for Dr. Stacey, a massage therapist, among many other things.

1 Wig Room 1 Room for Dr. Stacey 1 bottle of fine red wine (No Kendall Jackson) 1 bottle of fine white wine (No Kendall Jackson) 4 Cokes 4 Diet Cokes 1 coffee table 1 end table for the phone to be placed on TV with VCR with a cable Hook up. Please make sure we can get the following channels: Turner Classic Movies or AMC.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift' s tour buses are essentially the equivalent of a dorm room. Just make sure if she's arriving before 11 a.m. you've made a pit stop to Starbucks. 

The Demands: If arriving before 11 a.m., the following from Starbucks:

1 Grande ICED Caramel Latte w/ 2 sweet-n-lows 1 Grande ICED Americano w/ 2 sweet-n-lows with soy milk 1 slice pumpkin loaf

1 Stick Butter 3 Boxes Kraft Macaroni/Cheese 2 Four Packs of Red Bull 1 12 Pack Corona Beer 1 12 Pack New Castle Beer 1 Bottle Welch's Grape Juice 1 Avocado 1 Bag of Twizzlers red licorice 1 Case of Smart Water 1 Pint Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream 1 Pint Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Brownie Frozen Yogurt

Punk icon Iggy Pop's 18-page rider from 2006 is a monstrosity that includes, among many ridiculous requests, a demand for "Somebody dressed as Bob Hope" to do impersonations of the dead comedian.

A copy of USA Today that's got a story about morbidly obese people in it 6 bottles of Grolsch or decent local beer F------ loads of good red wines 6 large bottles of good quality sparkling water 3 cases x 12 oz bottles of still mineral water 6 bottles of alcohol free beer 1 case of big bottles of good, premium beer A bottle of vodka Cauliflower/broccoli, cut into individual florets and thrown immediately into the garbage. I f------ hate that.

Van Halen's infamous "no brown M&M's"  request was reportedly instituted so that concert promoters would be forced to pay close attention to all the items on their extensive list — or else forfeit the profits of their show, due to a contract clause. You can find a sampling of their ridiculous rider below and the full version at The Smoking Gun.

Nuts  Pretzels M&MS (WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES) 1 large tube of KY jelly 3 packs of Marlboro cigarettes (box) Herring in sour cream 2 gallons non-carbonated, bottled spring water 3 fifths Jack Daniels Black Label bourbon 2 fifths Stolichnaya vodka 1 pint Southern Comfort 2 bottles Blue Nun white wine

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Like you, we are passionate about bikes. Take your pick from our extensive fleet of major brands, featuring Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, Honda, BMW, Triumph, Ducati, KTM, Moto Guzzi, Royal Enfield, ATVs, side by sides, and scooters, as well as wild trikes such as the Slingshot, T-Rex, and redesigned Can-Am. Whether for a short-term rental, long-term escorted or self-guided program, EagleRider is in the business of delivering dreams, something we take very seriously. We know how much this ride means to you, tirelessly working to ensure the best possible experience whether you, like us, want to enjoy life on a bike no matter where you are, or tour the otherworldly red rock wonderlands of the Southwest, cruise old Route 66, make a beeline for hot fun in Sin City, search for undiscovered territories, or retrace the Easy Rider route from Venice, CA to New Orleans. We are proud to be your partner in these soul-expanding, life-altering adventures.

Rentals are available from more than 150 locations around the world, giving riders easy access to jump on a plane, rent a motorcycle, and be one that incredible motorcycle road or destination you have been dreaming of. Ride the Alps, the South of France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Morocco, Australia, South America, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, Croatia, South Africa, Indian, Canada, and many other dream destinations. You can also choose from over 100 locations across the United States, giving you easy access great destinations, world-famous motorcycle rallies like Sturgis and Daytona Bike Week, and easy long-weekend rides when you want to escape the snow and head to Florida, Southern California, Arizona, Texas, New Orleans, or any of the “sun belt” states during the winter months. EagleRider offers one-way motorcycle rentals from most US locations, allowing you to see more of the country and get the most out of your seat time.

EagleRider offers three types of motorcycle tours: Self-Drive Tours, Guided Tours, and Custom Tours.

Self-Drive Tours are very popular with riders who are looking for the flexibility to ride on their own schedule, or that prefer to ride solo or with a small group of friends. Our Self-Drive Tours include your motorcycle rental, hand-selected, motorcycle friendly hotels, your detailed route and itinerary, as well as our proprietary Mobile Tour Guide App, which contains all your turn-by-turn digital maps, hotel vouchers, and thousands of highlights and attractions across the USA. Self-Drive Tours may be selected from more than 75 of our most popular motorcycle road trips , or our team of Tour Architects can work with you to modify and customize the perfect itinerary. Self-Drive Tours may range in length from 1 night to as many nights as you wish.

EagleRider’s Guided Tours have become the gold standard of the motorcycle travel and tour industry, with more than 120 group departures annually, many filled with riders who or on their third, fourth, and sometimes seventh or eighth tour with us. Our Guided Tours are led by our “Rock Star,” professional Tour Leaders, many of whom have been leading tours for 12+ years with EagleRider, and two of which will hit their 50th and 66th trips down the length of Route 66 in 2023. Our Guided Tours travel with groups that average 10 – 12 bikes, with a maximum of 15, and include your motorcycle rental, first-rate hotels, daily breakfast, fuel for bikes, door to door luggage transportation, and much, much more. We even include the helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon on our very popular Route 66 and Wild West Guided Tours. Our other popular routes cover Canada, the Canadian Rockies and Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, the Bonneville Salt Flats, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Colorado, the Blues Trail between New Orleans, Memphis, and Nashville, Blue Ridge Parkway, Tail of the Dragon, Coast to Coast, and more. EagleRider’s Guided Tours are the ultimate riding experience where you will start with a group of people you have never met, then finish the tour a week or two later feeling like you are part of a new family, with many of your planning your next tour together before the current one even ends! Our Professional Tour Leaders speak English, Germany, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Mandarin, and more. We run our standard departures in multiple languages, all of which can be found on the Guided Motorcycle Tours page.

EagleRider’s Custom Tours can be both Self-Drive and Guided. Our team of Tour Architects will work with you or your group leader, depending on who is traveling, and take as long as needed to come up to create the perfect itinerary that meets your budget. The fact that we’ve been doing this since 1992 means we know every corner of the globe and that we have relationships in place with hotel and attraction partners that allow us access to experiences that no other company gets. There are lots of great tour companies out there, with most renting bikes from us, but if you are going to be on our bikes, you might as well be on our tour. Whether it’s a private trip down Route 66, a group ride to the Grand Canyon or Casablanca, or a two week ride in South America or Europe, our global footprint allows us to craft the ultimate riding experience for your private group.

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EagleRider, the world's largest motorcycle rental, tour, and membership company, carries the largest selection of new Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, BMW, Honda, Indian, and more for rent and touring. All motorcycles are maintained to meet strict factory standards providing the most fun, safe, and affordable riding experience. EagleRider operates from over 200 worldwide locations, leads over 100 guided and self-drive motorcycle tours including Route 66 and the Wild West, and convenient one-way motorcycle rentals, luggage storage, free parking, free use of DOT-approved helmets, amazing Club EagleRider membership benefits, and more.

EagleRider, the world's largest motorcycle rental, tour, and membership company, carries the largest selection of new Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, BMW, Honda, Indian, and more for rent and touring. All motorcycles are maintained to meet strict factory standards providing the most fun, safe, and affordable riding experience. EagleRider operates from over 200 worldwide locations, leads over 100 guided and self-drive motorcycle tours including Route 66 and the Wild West, and convenient one-way motorcycle rentals, luggage storage, free parking, free use of DOT-approved helmets, amazing Club EagleRider membership benefits, and more.

Riders Tour

Ein spannendes Finale der 22. Riders Tour Saison bei den VR CLASSICS Neumünster: Hans-Dieter Dreher wurde nach acht internationalen Etappen zum ‘Rider of the Year 2023/24’ gekürt. Für den erfahrenen Springreiter und mehrfachen Weltcup-Sieger war es der erste Titelgewinn in Deutschlands prestigeträchtigster Springserie und für die Riders Tour ein weiterer, verdienter Gesamtsieger.  

Young Riders Tour

Nachwuchsförderung war schon immer eine Idee der Riders Tour, aber bekam mit der Young Riders Tour in 2022 und 2023 konkrete Züge. Die Young Riders Tour Springserie unterstützt die besten und erfolgreichsten Talente der Altersklasse Junge Reiter (18-21 Jahre) bei ihrem Sprung in das Seniorenlager.

22 Jahre Riders Tour

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Tour de France 2024 – Comprehensive team-by-team guide

A full rundown of all the teams, their leaders and the riders to watch at this year's race

Alpecin-Deceuninck

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As the 2024 Tour de France rolls out from Florence, Italy on June 29, there will be 176 riders competing across 22 teams – some with a target on overall victory, others looking for stage wins and more still pleased with any opportunity that comes along their way to gather publicity on the biggest cycling stage in the world. 

All 18 WorldTour teams, plus the two best-ranked ProTeams – Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto-Dstny – got their automatic invitations to race while organisers ASO handed out wild card entries to Uno-X Mobility and TotalEnergies.

Crashes, form and Olympic goals have shaped the selections and ambitions for the teams but regardless all will be fighting to make an impression as the 21 days of racing over 3497.3km from Tuscany to Nice in the south of France unfolds.

Cyclingnews has pored through every squad, assessing their leaders, objectives and chances of success to bring you this comprehensive team-by-team guide.

• Team leader: Jasper Philipsen
• Objective: Stage wins, points classification
• Rider to watch: Mathieu van der Poel

In the bunch sprints of the Grand Tours of recent years, one team has stood out above the rest as masters of the lead-out train: Alpecin-Deceuninck .

They were a prominent presence throughout the bunch finishes at the recent Giro d’Italia, but Kaden Groves wasn’t able to ride them to victory. However, at the Tour de France, the team will have Jasper Philipsen , the quickest sprinter in the peloton.

Philipsen was one of the stars of last year’s Tour, storming to four stage wins (as many as any sprinter has managed at a single Tour since the 2011 edition), as well as riding consistently enough to claim the green jersey. He didn't slow down this spring, either, with victories at Milan-San Remo and the Classic Brugge-De Panne, as well as a second place at Paris-Roubaix, among his very impressive results.

Not only is Philipsen the quickest sprinter in the race, but he’ll also have the quickest lead-out man riding for him in Mathieu van der Poel . The pair work brilliantly together, as seen not just at last year’s Tour sprints, but also during the spring, when Van der Poel helped Philipsen to triumph at Milan-San Remo, and vice versa at Paris-Roubaix.

Van der Poel will also go hunting for stage wins on appropriate stages, most likely on days with punchy parcours too hard for sprinters but not hard enough for climbers. For a man so untouchable in the Classics, it’s perhaps surprising that he only has one stage win to his name from three Tour appearances, but he has often ridden here with a future goal in mind, as will be the case this year as he builds towards the Olympics.

• Team leader: Arnaud Démare
• Objective: Stage wins
• Rider to watch: Kévin Vauquelin

With Warren Barguil having followed Nairo Quintana out the door, Arkéa-B&B Hotels are going in a fresh direction for the 2024 Tour with sprinter Arnaud Démare as their new talisman.

Having grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of opportunities provided him by his former Groupama-FDJ team, who selected him for only one Tour de France start in the last five years, Démare has moved to a team where he won’t just be picked but will command unified support behind him.

It’s hoped that as a winner of two Tour stages in the past, Démare can deliver the team their long-awaited first-ever following ten winless Tours, but does the Frenchman have the shape to do so? He hasn’t made the top ten of any race for almost four months, and recently fractured a finger at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, plunging his Tour preparations into doubt.

It could therefore be up to others in the line-up to deliver, from which Kévin Vauquelin has shown particular potential. The 23-year-old has done everything this year, from making the top 10 at both Itzulia Basque Country and Tirreno-Adriatico, finishing second on the Mur de Huy at La Flèche Wallonne and winning a time trial at Etoile de Bessèges. He could be a contender for a variety of different stages though specialises in climbing hills and mountains.

• Team leader: Mark Cavendish
• Rider to watch: Alexey Lutsenko

At last, it's nearly time for the race that Astana Qazaqstan 's whole season has been building up towards.

Since signing Mark Cavendish in January 2023, they've made it their foremost mission to deliver the Manxman to the elusive win number 35, move clear of Eddy Merckx, and thereby become the outright record holder for most stage wins at the Tour de France.

It had initially been intended as a one-year plan, but after the heartbreak of last year’s race, where Cavendish crashed out at the end of the first week , he and the team have decided to have one last shot at history this July.

Unlike last year, when he went into the Tour off the back of a final-day victory in Rome at the Giro d’Italia, Cavendish has shown only sporadic signs of form this season, confined to smaller races. He won a stage during his first race of the season at the Tour of Colombia in February but had to wait another three months for a first victory on European roads at the Tour of Hongrie.

The Astana team is set to be built entirely around him. Veteran lead-out master Michael Mørkøv was signed exclusively to deliver him in the sprints, while Cees Bol and Davide Ballerini will sacrifice their own sprinting ambitions to form part of his lead-out train.

One rider who might be granted some freedom to ride for himself is Alexey Lutsenko . He showed great form by winning Il Giro d’Abruzzo before abandoning the Giro d’Italia and finishing seventh and eighth on GC in 2021 and 2022, respectively. He has two Tour de France GC top 10s, as well as a stage win in 2020, on his palmarès, so another top showing isn't out of the question.

• Team leaders: Pello Bilbao
• Objective: GC, stage wins
• Riders to watch: Santiago Buitrago, Matej Mohorič

What Bahrain Victorious lacks in a single stand-out GC contender, they make up for in strength in depth. Following Antonio Tiberi’s fifth place at the Giro d’Italia, they’re hoping to extend their run of top-six finishes on GC to a fifth consecutive Grand Tour and have several riders potentially capable of doing so.

Their best candidate is Pello Bilbao , based on his performance at the Tour last year and in stage races so far in 2024. He was sixth place last year and has been building nicely towards that level again this year with sixth-place finishes at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Itzulia Basque Country, plus third at the UAE Tour in between.

Santiago Buitrago is poised to make his Tour debut. He brings with him considerable expectations off the back of his stage wins and top-ten finish at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, respectively, as well as his impressive showing at Paris-Nice earlier this year.

It’s also hoped that Jack Haig can rediscover some form ahead of the race, while even veteran Wout Poels could post a high GC finish based on his recent third and sixth-place finishes at the Tour de Hongrie and Tour of the Alps, respectively.

Poels and Bilbao were two of the three different riders to win a stage at last year’s Tour, along with Matej Mohorič, who will again be using his nous and engine to target breakaways. The Slovenian has three Tour stage wins on his career palmarès and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him add another win here.

With Phil Bauhaus , a debutant last summer, also posing a threat in the bunch sprints, Bahrain Victorious has the resources to target a win on almost every stage.

• Team leaders: Guillaume Martin
• Riders to watch: Bryan Coquard, Ion Izagirre.

For the first time in many years, Cofidis can go into a Tour de France without being badgered about questions of whether this will be the year they at last manage to claim a stage win.

By triumphing on stage 2 of last year’s edition, Victor Lafay ended the team’s 15-year drought and then Ion Izagirre added another stage a week later.

Lafay has since left for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale but Izagirre remains and is set to ride, with stage wins on hilly and mountainous days again likely to be the target.

Guillaume Martin will ride his eighth consecutive Tour de France and will be the team’s leading GC hope. He’s placed eighth, 10th, 11th and 12th in past appearances, but has never won a stage, so he may prioritise trying to take one from a breakaway.

Bryan Coquard is another rider without a Tour stage win to his name despite many near misses, including a couple of fourth-place finishes last year. He’ll be the team’s man for the bunch sprints, especially on hillier days that weaken the specialists.

While these riders bring experience, 25-year-old Axel Zingle has form and potential. He’s been consistently in contention for multiple semi-Classics over the last few months and could win from a breakaway if he picks the right move.

• Team leader: Felix Gall
• Rider to watch: Sam Bennett, Benoît Cosnefroy

In the middle of an exceptional season, in which they have already racked up more victories than they managed in the last two seasons combined, expectations are high for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale as they head into the biggest race of the year.

Although the men who delivered stage wins (Valentin Paret-Peintre and Andrea Vendrame) and fourth overall (Ben O’Connor) at the Giro d’Italia will sit this one out as they rest and recover, the core of the other names who have made 2024 such a success are set to be present.

Benoît Cosnefroy has been the team’s biggest contributor with seven of their 23 wins (as of the end of May) and will target the hilly stages, while Dorion Godon will be a candidate in reduced bunch sprints, having won two sprint finishes at the Tour de Romandie in late April.

In the pure flat finishes, Sam Bennett will still be their main candidate, having recently shown signs of returning to form with a haul of wins and GC at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque.

Felix Gall might have had a quieter season to date, but he'll still be the team’s main man for the mountains and their GC candidate.  He finished eighth overall last year after breaking through with a series of good performances in the spring, while he'll also be hoping to replicate his breakaway stage win at Courchevel.

• Team leader: Fabio Jakobsen, Romain Bardet
• Rider to watch: Warren Barguil

For the Tour de France, DSM-Firmenich PostNL are making the unusual move of deploying the same two leaders as they did at the Giro d’Italia.

In the bunch sprints, Fabio Jakobsen will again line up as he continues to rediscover his mojo. The Dutchman still only has one win to his name (at the Tour of Turkey) since signing for the team this year, and he failed to get involved in the Giro bunch sprints before abandoning during the second week. However, the team still retains faith that he can reach the level that saw him win a stage on his Tour debut two years ago.

Romain Bardet fared better at the Giro than Jakobsen, finishing ninth overall while coming close to a stage win on Bocca della Selva. Though he has made the top 10 in all but two of the eight Tours he has finished throughout his career, his excursions in Italy may mean he targets stage wins this time instead.

With 11 wins to their name – including just one WorldTour race and only three outside the Tour of Turkey – DSM need some big results. That means that another French climber, Warren Barguil , will likely be given the freedom to attack and get into breakaways.

• Team leader: Richard Carapaz
• Rider to watch: Neilson Powless, Ben Healy

Last season was the first in EF Education-Easy Post ’s 16-year history that they did not place a rider in the top 10 of any of the Grand Tours. That run continued at the Giro d’Italia last month, where they aggressively targeted stage wins rather than GC via constant attacks, and were eventually rewarded in the final week with success from Georg Steinhauser in the Dolomites.

Nevertheless, they intend to strive to finish as high as possible at the Tour with Richard Carapaz as their leader. The 2021 podium finisher and 2019 Giro champion was signed in 2023 to do precisely that but he endured an under-par season last year and is only just showing signs of some form recently, with a stage win and seventh overall at the Tour de Romandie. 

With Carapaz’s form still uncertain, there ought to be plenty of scope for the rest of the line-up to chase their own personal ambitions. Neilson Powless , for instance, could either chase GC as he did in 2023 (when he finished 12th), or stage wins and the polka-dot jersey as he did last year.

Irish puncheur Ben Healy is set to make his Tour debut, and if his Giro debut from last year and performances in the Classics are anything to go by, we can expect him to attack at every opportunity.

Alberto Bettiol ’s form during the spring suggests he could add a Tour stage win to the one he managed at the 2021 Giro, while Marijn van den Berg has also earned a spot on the team thanks to his impressive early season performances.

• Team leader: David Gaudu
• Rider to watch: Stefan Küng

A new dawn awaits Groupama-FDJ as they embark upon the first Tour de France of the post-Thibaut Pinot era. Before retiring at the end of last year, Pinot had been the fulcrum of the team, appearing for them in all but two of the last 12 editions — sometimes with great success, other times with great heartbreak.

David Gaudu will seek to fill the void left by Pinot, as he has for several years now. Fourth overall in 2022 remains his highest finish at any Grand Tour, and though a repeat of that looks ambitious given his stuttering form this year, he’s still dreaming of a podium finish.

If Gaudu doesn’t have the legs to mount a serious GC challenge, targeting stage wins may be the team’s optimum approach, and they have plenty of riders capable of delivering on that front.

Rising star Lenny Martinez misses the race in favour of the Vuelta a España, but 21-year-old Romain Grégoire is set to make his Tour debut on the back of some very impressive results this year, including a stage win at Itzulia Basque Country

Valentin Madouas has become a recognisable face from recent Tours without quite winning a stage, though he certainly has the talent to do so. Stefan Küng will, as ever, be a candidate for both the time trials as well as select breakaways.

• Team leaders: Carlos Rodríguez
• Objective: GC
• Rider to watch: Tom Pidcock, Egan Bernal

Last year was only the second time in the last decade that Ineos Grenadiers failed to put a rider on the GC podium at the Tour de France. Even since their run of yellow jersey-winning Tours came to an end in 2020, up until then they had still managed to crack the podium through Richard Carapaz (in 2021) and Geraint Thomas (in 2022), but last year their highest finisher, Carlos Rodríguez , finished further down in fifth place.

Still, that result means Rodríguez is the obvious choice to lead the team’s 2024 GC bid, and the 23-year-old has bolstered his status with overall victory at the Tour de Romandie and second place behind Juan Ayuso at Itzulia Basque Country.

Also in the squad are other, more wildcard options for GC. Geraint Thomas would usually be a dependable candidate, but it’s unclear how fresh he will be, having dug deep to seal third place at the Giro d’Italia , while Tom Pidcock has stated that he intends to concentrate on the GC rather than stage wins, despite failing to make the top ten last year.

And what of Egan Bernal ? The 2019 champion has for the first time since his horror crash two and a half years ago shown form approaching his best, with third overall at Volta a Catalunya and top tens at Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie, but it remains to be seen if he can manage a sustained GC bid over three weeks.

Michał Kwiatkowski and Laurens De Plus will be on hand to help the aforementioned trio achieve their GC goals, even if the Belgian could harbour ambitions of his own after racing to an unexpected and impressive fifth overall at the Critérium du Daupihiné. 

• Team leader: Biniam Girmay, Louis Meintjes
• Rider to watch: Georg Zimmermann

Biniam Girmay returns to the Tour de France hoping for a positive turn in fortunes. So far his season has been blighted by interruptions, with promising form in the early spring classics halted by a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, and another crash spelling the end of his Giro d’Italia one day after finishing third in Fossano.

He’s since returned to winning ways with victory at the Circuit Franco-Belge , and looks on course to arrive at the Tour in form. As Intermarché-Wanty ’s star, the onus is on the Eritrean to make an impact and he has the chance to make history as the first-ever Black African to win a stage of the Tour de France. His consistency and versatility also make him a candidate for the green jersey.

Like Girmay, who failed to show his best self at last year’s Tour, Louis Meintjes will be hoping to return to the form that saw him finish seventh overall in 2022 rather than crash out last year.

Meintjes will be the team’s GC leader, but the rest of the line-up will have the freedom to get into break and chase stage wins, much as Georg Zimmermann (who was second on stage 10) did last year. Rouleurs like Laurenz Rex and Hugo Page might fancy their chances of winning a stage this way, too.

• Team leader: Stephen Williams
• Rider to watch: Derek Gee, Pascal Ackermann

Israel-Premier Tech 's high ambitions from 2021, when they gambled on signing Chris Froome in the hope that he could recover from his horror crash two years earlier and revive his Tour-winning form of old, have since been significantly tempered.

Now no longer a WorldTour team, they've instead depended upon a wildcard to earn entry into the Tour de France, and their hopes are limited to chasing stage wins rather than mixing it up in the battle for the yellow jersey.

Froome himself is still fighting for selection. He’s eager to avoid a repeat of last year when he was left out of the Tour line-up, but his hopes of proving himself worthy were compromised when a fractured wrist sustained during Tirreno-Adriatico forced him to miss almost three months of racing.

His compatriot Stephen Williams is enjoying a terrific season, winning both La Flèche Wallonne and the Tour Down Under. He'll therefore be a top contender for stage wins in the hilly terrain.

The team should have a presence in the sprints, where Tour debutant Pascal Ackermann aims to add to his Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España stage wins and complete the Grand Tour clean sweep.

The rest of the line-up will be made up of stage hunters such as Dylan Teuns (who won here in both 2019 and 2021), and Derek Gee . The Canadian, who last year burst onto the scene with a series of breakaway second places at the Giro d'Italia, makes his Tour debut in the form of his life after scoring a stage win and third overall at the Critérium du Dauphné .

• Team leader: Simon Yates, Dylan Groenewegen
• Riders to watch: Michael Matthews

For a second successive season, Jayco-AlUla leader Simon Yates has foregone his usual Giro d’Italia participation in order to concentrate more committedly on the Tour de France.

Last year, this approach turned out to be a success, as he came to the Tour with some of the best legs of his career, eventually finishing fourth overall, and only missing out on a podium finish by 87 seconds to his brother Adam. His build-up to this year’s Tour isn’t so encouraging, however, having not shown much form since winning the AlUla Tour in the winter.

Jayco-AlUla aren’t putting all their eggs in the single basket of Yates’ GC bid. Dylan Groenewegen will be led out in the sprints by the likes of Luka Mezgec to see if he can add to his five Tour career stage wins, having come close last year with a second and third-place finish at Moulins and Paris, respectively.

On days too hilly for Groenewegen, Michael Matthews will step up, and may also try to get into some breakaways as he did to win a stage in 2022. He looked in fantastic form this spring, placing second at Milan-San Remo and, before being relegated for deviating from his line, third at the Tour of Flanders.

• Team leader: Mads Pedersen, Tao Geoghegan Hart
• Rider to watch: Giulio Ciccone

As a team boasting a diverse range of talent, Lidl-Trek could feasibly compete for all three of the major jerseys.

For the yellow jersey, they have Tao Geoghegan Hart . He’s only done the Tour de France once in his career and is eager to target GC here while still in his prime years. Victory might seem implausible, but that was also the case when he triumphed at the Giro d’Italia in 2020.

Mads Pedersen finished a distant second to Jasper Philipsen in the points classification last year, though he did score his second stage win in as many years. He's shown the kind of excellent form throughout this year to suggest he could bridge that gap, as well as add to his stage win tally.

As for the king of the mountains, Giulio Ciccone won that classification last year and will now be present to potentially defend that title after saddle sore surgery forced him to skip the Giro d’Italia.

Lidl-Trek might even have had a prime candidate for the white jersey if Matias Skjelmose had opted to ride, but he plans to skip the Tour and save himself for a Vuelta a España overall bid instead.

• Team leader : Arnaud De Lie
• Rider to watch: Maxim Van Gils

Compared to other teams, Lotto-Dstny have a laser-focussed approach when it comes to the Tour de France. Not only will it be their first Grand Tour of the season, having opted out of the Giro d’Italia, but they have also narrow down their ambitions to focus exclusively on stage wins, having not placed a rider in the top 10 for 14 years.

They haven’t had success on these terms recently, though, with no stage win to their name since Caleb Ewan’s victories in the sprints during the 2020 edition. The Australian has led the team for the past five Tours, bringing much success initially with multiple stage wins in 2019 and 2020, but nothing in the three editions since then.

He’s now left the team for Jayco-AlUla, and taking his place as Lotto’s leader will be Arnaud De Lie . Much is hoped from the 22-year-old debutant based on his rapid rise over the past two years, and he'll be especially threatening on hillier days where the pure sprinters will struggle.

However, the Tour will be a big step up from the level of competition he’s used to, and he’s only recently r eturned to form after suffering from Lyme disease during the spring.

De Lie might be the most hyped name, but another young Belgian, Maxim Van Gils , has been the team’s best performer so far this season. He finished second on the stage to Grand Colombier last year and has since established himself as one of the very best puncheurs in the world following podium finishes at Strade Bianche and La Flèche Wallonne, and a fourth place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

2023 super-combativity winner Victor Campanaerts is also set to ride again, though his season to date has been a quiet one.

• Team leader: Enric Mas
• Rider to watch: Rémi Cavagna

2024 has so far been another difficult season for Movistar , with Pelayo Sánchez’s stage victory at the Giro d’Italia their only win at WorldTour level all year.

That doesn’t bode well for their prospects at the Tour de France, where they have, in recent years, laboured to reach the levels of the past. They’ve now gone two successive Tours without placing a rider in the top 10, having done so in eight of the nine previous editions.

If any of their roster is to break that duck, it’ll be Enric Mas . The Spaniard has generally been one of the most dependable GC riders of his generation, making the top six in six of his last eight Grand Tour appearances.

However, he has been forced to abandon both of his last two Tours de France, with his participation last summer ending on the first day following a crash.

So far, Mas has enjoyed a solid season without causing too much of a stir, finishing fifth overall at Volta a Catalunya and sixth at the Tour de Romandie. Considering that he normally ups his game for the Grand Tours, that’s encouraging.

New signing Rémi Cavagna is a dependable name in the time trials, breakaways and in helping team leaders on the flat, though the Frenchman hasn't scored a WorldTour win of his own since 2021. Returning star Nairo Quintana won't make the race, meanwhile, after breaking his hand in a crash at the Tour de Suisse.

• Team leaders: Primož Roglič
• Riders to watch: Jai Hindley, Aleksandr Vlasov

For the 2024 season, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe signed Primož Roglič with the primary objective of winning the Tour de France.

The team might never before have made the podium at any previous edition in their 10-year history, but Roglič has the calibre to challenge for yellow, as well as the desire, having moved from Visma-Lease a Bike for that specific purpose.

The Slovenian has left it to the last minute to show the kind of form he'll need to challenge for the yellow jersey, with his Critérium du Dauphiné victory his best showing of 2024 so far. The week-long warm-up race marked his first race since the heavy crash suffered by him, Remco Evenepoel, and Jonas Vingegaard at Itzulia Basque Country.

His two stage wins at the late summit finishes at Le Collet d'Allevard and Samöens 1600 were his first since the opening day at Itzulia, though a shaky final stage showing – where he shed almost a minute to Matteo Jorgenson and only held onto yellow by eight seconds – could provoke some cause for concern. 

Roglič’s presence means last year’s leader Jai Hindley — who enjoyed a day in the yellow jersey after winning stage five in Laruns before back pain contributed to a slip down to seventh on GC — will be demoted to the role of super-domestique.

While Hindley’s form has tailed away since his impressive third-place finish at Tirreno-Adriatico, Aleksandr Vlasov might believe he has the results to justify potential co-leadership status. With a second place at Tour de Romandie, sixth at Volta a Catalunya and fifth at Paris-Nice, he has been among the team's top performers this year. At the Dauphiné, he proved a reliable and strong deputy for Roglič.

Elsewhere, the rest of the team is geared exclusively towards targeting the yellow jersey, with Champs-Elysées-winning sprinter Jordi Meeus missing out on selection as the team looks to domestiques Danny van Poppel , Nico Denz , Marco Haller , Matteo Sobrero , and Bob Jungels .

• Team leader: Remco Evenepoel
• Rider to watch: Mikel Landa, Ilan Van Wilder

In a drastic change of approach, Soudal-QuickStep have abandoned their usual Tour de France strategy of targeting bunch sprints and stage wins, and instead are going all in on Remco Evenepoel ’s push for GC.

This is set to be Evenepoel’s debut Tour, and it’s a hugely anticipated one, given the already enormous star profile he’s built for himself through many superb performances and major results including two Liège–Bastogne–Liège victories, the world title in 2022, and the GC at the Vuelta a España that same year.

His build-up has been compromised after a crash and fractured collarbone at Itzulia Basque Country stalled the momentum that had already seen him win Volta ao Algarve and finish second at Paris-Nice, but the plan remains the same.

His first race back, the Critérium du Dauphiné, saw him score a dominant time trial win, though he faded hard in the closing three mountain stages, losing 2:58 to Primož Roglič. That will be a major cause for concern heading into July.

As part of the team building around Evenepoel, Mikel Landa has been signed up as a super-domestique. The Spaniard has performed this role in the past – at Sky to help Chris Froome win the 2017 Tour de France, and at Movistar for Richard Carapaz’s 2019 Giro d’Italia triumph. Second at Volta a Catalunya and 10th at the Dauphiné suggests he has the legs to do something similar this year, too

Landa will be joined by Evenepoel’s familiar right-hand man, Ilan Van Wilder . The Belgian has ridden in support of Evenepoel many times, most notably during his triumphant Vuelta a España effort two years ago and should be in solid form, too, having placed fourth at the Tour de Romandie.

The team’s focus on GC means there will be no room for in-form sprinter Tim Merlier, despite his success at the Giro d’Italia, nor even home favourite Julian Alaphilippe, as the remaining spots instead go to domestiques including Yves Lampaert , Casper Pedersen , Louis Vervaeke and Gianni Moscon .

• Team leader: Mathieu Burgaudeau
• Rider to watch: Steff Cras

When TotalEnergies signed Peter Sagan for the 2022 season, they hoped the Slovakian would be the star name to make them protagonists at the Tour de France. His first edition for them was typically consistent, finishing in the top six of five different stages, but lacking the edge of his heyday; by the following year his powers had seriously waned, and he only made the top ten once.

Sagan now having retired, the team must embark on a new direction. They’ve struggled at the Tour in recent years, and haven’t won a stage since Lilian Calmejane in 2017.

It will be hard for them to break that duck this year. Of the four non-WorldTour entries, they probably have the weakest roster, as reflected by the fact that they’d only won three races this season as of the beginning of June.

Consequently, they’re strategy will be to buy daily tickets in the lottery that is getting into the breakaway. Mathieu Burgaudeau is a particular specialist at this, having finished second and third on stages of last year’s race, and placed second in the King of the Mountains classification at this year’s Paris-Nice riding similarly aggressively.

The likes of Pierre Latour, Anthony Turgis, Geoffrey Soupe and Alexis Vuillermoz all provide experienced options for TotalEnergies to potentially select. And though the team don’t tend to target GC anymore, Stef Cras ’ 11th place finish at the Vuelta a España last year suggests he could become their first rider to crack the top ten since Pierre Rolland in 2015 — although his participation remains up in the air due to his involvement in the horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country.

• Team leaders: Tadej Pogačar
• Rider to watch: Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso

Phase one of UAE Team Emirates ’ great ambition to win the Giro/Tour double this year with Tadej Pogačar was a success, with the Slovenian waltzing to an enormous victory at the first Grand Tour . Now, it’s time for the hard part.

Pogačar won the Giro at a canter, almost 10 minutes clear of second place as he won a staggering six stages without ever appearing to have to stretch himself. But at the Tour, he’ll be up against a much stronger field of GC candidates, none of whom have the accumulated fatigue of having already completed a Grand Tour this season – even if Evenepoel, Roglič, and Vingegaard are all making comebacks from that brutal Itzulia crash.

UAE Team Emirates provided ample support to him at the Giro, with Rafał Majka and Vegard Stake Laengen impressing in particular, but the team is set to ring in the changes with an all-new line-up at the Tour.

On paper, it’s a much stronger group of riders. In Adam Yates , they have the man who finished third last summer, even if his form this year is in more doubt having performed only in patches since winning the UAE Tour in February. Juan Ayuso provides another potential GC option, making his Tour debut on the back of a podium finish at the Vuelta a España and overall victory at Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year. 

More climbing firepower will come from João Almeida , another rider who would slot in as a GC leader at most of the other teams in the peloton. Elsewhere, Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler bolster the climbing line-up along with Tim Wellens and Nils Politt , the latter pairing set to feature in the engine room during flatter stages.

The team will be hoping Ayuso, Sivakov, Wellens, and Politt recover well from a mass spill at the Critérium du Dauphiné, with Ayuso forced out of the race with pain in both hips as a result.

• Team leader: Alexander Kristoff
• Riders to watch: Andreas Leknessund, Magnus Cort

After making a successful Tour de France debut last year, Uno-X Mobility have been invited back by ASO as a wild card entry again.

Last year, they impressed by being active in the breakaways, with Tobias Halland Johannessen enjoying particular success with three top-six finishes. He’s set to return this year and on the back of some good form, too, having finished sixth at La Flèche Wallonne during the spring.

This time, they’ll have more strings to their bow. In new signing Andreas Leknessund , they have a rider capable of challenging for GC, even if he hasn’t yet shown the form this season that saw him finish eighth overall at the Giro d’Italia last year. And Magnus Cort brings considerable experience as a two-time former stage winner at the Tour, and will be dangerous from an intermediate stage break or reduced bunch sprint.

They will also again have Alexander Kristoff for the bunch sprints, who, though poised to turn 37 during the Tour, has been winning regularly this past month or so and could have it in him to add to his four career Tour stage wins. 

But they are also sure to be one of the main presences in the breakaways, with Jonas Abrahamsen posing a particular threat, having recently won the Brussels Cycling Classic that way.

• Team leader: Jonas Vingegaard
• Rider to watch: Sepp Kuss, Wout van Aert

As the Tour approaches, Visma-Lease a Bike are still sweating on the fitness of Jonas Vingegaard . The defending champion’s participation was plunged into doubt when he crashed out of Itzulia Basque Country in April and hasn’t raced since. He has recently returned to training at high altitude, though his exact racing level won't become apparent before the Tour.

Given the severity of that fall, the fact he has a genuine chance of returning in time feels miraculous, but doing so with the form to win the yellow jersey again will be an even bigger ask.

Prior to that crash, Vingegaard had started the season in intimidatingly good form, triumphing at both Tirreno-Adriatico and O Gran Camiño while claiming five stage wins in total, and would surely be the overwhelming favourite for yellow were it not for his fitness and form doubts. 

Should the Dane fail to recover in time, it might be up to Sepp Kuss to fill his boots. The peerless climbing super-domestique proved himself as a Grand Tour GC rider by winning the Vuelta a España last year, though he hasn’t shown anything like that form so far this year. On top of that, he abandoned the Critérium du Dauphiné before the final day of racing as he wasn't feeling 100% .

Like Vingegaard, Wout van Aert , too, is a doubt as he tries to recover in time from the injuries that ruled him out of both the Giro d’Italia and the major spring Classics, though he has returned to racing at the Tour of Norway.

He hopes to join other stalwarts of the previous yellow jersey-winning campaigns Tiesj Benoot , Dylan van Baarle and Christophe Laporte . Matteo Jorgenson will make for a very useful addition to the line-up, bringing a diverse range of talents that has this year seen him win Paris-Nice and Dwars door Vlaanderen and score a surprising second overall at the Dauphiné.

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Stephen Puddicombe is a freelance writer based in Bristol. He has written for Cyclingnews since 2020, and has covered cycling professionally as a freelancer since 2013, writing for outlets such as Rouleur , Cycling Weekly and Cycle Sport , among other publications. He is the author of The World of the Tour de France, published by Sona Books. Outside of cycling he is a passionate cinephile, and a long-suffering Spurs fan.

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Arkéa Samsic Kévin Ledanois, Louis Barré, Anthony Delaplace, Laurens Huys, Daniel McLay, Miles Scotson, Michel Ries

Astana Qazaqstan Team Rüdiger Selig, Dmitriy Gruzdev, Max Kanter, Samuele Battistella, Gianmarco Garofoldi, Michele Gazzoli, Christian Scaroni

Bahrain Victorious Jack Haig, Phil Bauhaus, Fran Miholjevic, Johan Price-Pejtersen, Cameron Scott, Torstein Træen, Nicolo Buratti

BORA – hansgrohe Danny van Poppel, Sam Welsford, Ryan Mullen, Roger Adrià, Patrick Gamper, Filip Maciejuk, Ben Zwiehoff

Cofidis Milan Fretin, Piet Allegaert, Rubén Fernández, Eddy Finé, Oliver Knight, Simon Geschke, Axel Mariault

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Clément Berthet, Franck Bonnamour, Paul Lapeira, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Nans Peters, Bastien Tronchon, Jaakko Hänninen

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INEOS Grenadiers Filippo Ganna, Laurens De Plus, Ben Swift, Elia Viviani, Joshua Tarling, Leo Hayter, Jhonatan Narváez

Intermarché – Wanty Biniam Girmay, Lilian Calmejane, Madis Mihkels, Tom Paquot, Simone Petilli, Dion Smith, Georg Zimmermann

Lidl – Trek Bauke Mollema, Quinn Simmons, Juan Pedro López, Dario Cataldo, Jacopo Mosca, Natnael Tesfatsion, Mathias Vacek

Movistar Iván García, Ruben Guerreiro, Johan Jacobs, Jon Barrenetxea, Vinicius Rangel, Manlio Moro, Gonzalo Serrano

Soudal – QuickStep Julian Alaphilippe, Josef Cerny, James Knox, Casper Pedersen, Pieter Serry, Antoine Huby, Gil Gelders

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL Patrick Bevin, Oscar Onley, Pavel Bittner, Patrick Eddy, Chris Hamilton, Sean Flynn, Emīls Liepins

Team Jayco AlUla Simon Yates, Caleb Ewan, Luke Plapp, Michael Hepburn, Chris Harper, Kelland O’Brien, Campbell Stewart

UAE Emirates Diego Ulissi, Alessandro Covi, Finn Fisher-Black, Álvaro José Hodeg, António Morgado, Michael Vink, Isaac Del Toro

Visma | Lease a Bike Koen Bouwman, Robert Gesink, Mick van Dijke, Milan Vader, Johannes Staune-Mittet, Loe van Belle, Bart Lemmen

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Israel – Premier Tech George Bennett, Derek Gee, Simon Clarke, Corbin Strong, Guillaume Boivin, Nick Schultz, Stephen Williams

Electronic Dance Music News, DJ Gear & Tech, South Africa

Check out this Jack Ü tour rider from Skrillex and Diplo

April 8, 2016 By Mary Honeychild

This Jack Ü tour rider from Skrillex and Diplo reads like a shopping list for your favourite kind of birthday party. And this is just a regular tour night for these two world famous DJs.

Skrillex and Diplo really do seem to love their booze and this Jack Ü tour rider offers precise and well rehearsed instructions for the needs of the artists on just what and how much.

The reason why public curiosity usually peaks over artist riders is due to the fact that these lists in fact say a lot about the personality of the artists.

For instance, Skrillex and Diplo have a strong reputation for living the party life and their tour rider seems to coincide with this image.

Diplo Tour Rider

The rider for Diplo which was leaked back in 2012 had some obnoxious and silly requests that seemed to be a way for the producer to entertain himself and take the piss, versus being what he actually needed or wanted backstage.

He asked for things like…

• A framed picture of Diplo
• One Gorilla (Silverback is preferred, an Orangutan is also acceptable)
• One dart board (with Nicolas Cage’s face on it)
• One Malawian orphan
• One parrot that is trained to say your name
• One arranged marriage
• Third season of Lost (on VHS tapes)

Jack Ü tour rider

The Jack Ü tour rider is a lot more straight forward and instructive. You could call it a little more mature and sensible, even with the party size amount of liquor requested.

The detailed list includes things like three bottles of Moet (non-rose) which proves they know how to drink champagne, they also want a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, three bottles of Grey Goose vodka, humus, pita bread, local beer, red bull, green juices, salad with no croutons, black v-neck t-shirts, “no-show” socks from H&M, Camel cigarettes, the classic solo cups and more.

Check it out below:

About Mary Honeychild

Mary is a fusion king, her love for music is defined by her roots of drums, saxophone and deep bass. She discovers the break and combination in genres and takes us on journeys into the origin and amalgamation of scenes such as Jazz, Hip Hop and electronic dance music.

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Riders Tour

The exciting finale of the 22nd Riders Tour season at the VR CLASSICS Neumünster: Hans-Dieter Dreher was crowned ‘Rider of the Year 2023/24’ after eight international stages. It was the first title win in Germany’s most prestigious jumping series for the experienced athlete and multiple World Cup winner and another well-deserved champion for the Riders Tour.

Young Riders Tour

Promoting young talent has always been at the heart of the Riders Tour, but has been taking on concrete features with the Young Riders Tour in 2022 and 2023. The Young Riders Tour jumping series supports the best and most successful talents in the Young Riders age group (18-21 years) as they make the leap into the senior camp.

22 years of Riders Tour history

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Jack Draper one win away from first ATP Tour title after making Stuttgart final

Draper followed up his quarter-final win over defending champion Frances Tiafoe with a 6-3 6-3 victory to reach his third tour-level final.

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Incoming British number one Jack Draper is one win away from his first ATP Tour title after making the final of the Stuttgart Open.

The 22-year-old, who will replace Cameron Norrie as the country’s highest-ranked player on Monday, beat American Brandon Nakashima in straight sets in Saturday’s semi-final in Germany.

Whatever happens in Sunday’s match against Italian Matteo Berrettini he will go up to a career-high ranking of 32, which is the cut-off point to earn a seed at Wimbledon.

He was in total control against Nakashima, forcing break point in the opening game, and never took his foot off the gas with two breaks of serve in the first set.

A single break was enough to get the job done in the second set as he earned a spot in his second final of the year after also reaching a showpiece match in Adelaide.

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New Riders of the Purple Sage’s Debut LP: Country + Rock + Jerry Garcia = ?

Like the Dead, the origin of the New Riders (the other shortcut to their name) is traceable directly to the folk music scene centered in the Peninsula, the region south of San Francisco encompassing San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, in particular the city of Palo Alto and the student-occupied neighborhoods near the campus of Stanford University. During the early ’60s, the Peninsula (home of Joan Baez) was a hotbed for aspiring folkies and bluegrass connoisseurs, many of whom—banjoist/guitarist/vocalist Jerry Garcia, singers/songwriters/guitarists David Crosby, Paul Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen and others—traded ideas as they worked the local clubs for whatever small fees they could scrounge.

By 1965, with the advent of the Beatles, the calling of rock and roll was too tempting to resist: Crosby was already going strong with the Byrds, who scored a #1 single covering Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”; Garcia had co-founded a band initially calling itself the Warlocks (soon to become the Grateful Dead); and Kantner and Kaukonen had just launched (along with singer Marty Balin) a rock outfit they called Jefferson Airplane.

It would be a lie to say that the rapid ascent in popularity and the ubiquity of the hallucinogenic LSD in the Bay Area had little effect on the boundless expansion of the music these folks and their colleagues were making: the Peninsula and San Francisco itself served as ground zero for the psychedelic culture that began shifting from well-kept secret to international phenomenon during this time, luring thousands of young people to the area; the freedom to experiment that these musicians enjoyed while performing at venues like the Fillmore Auditorium and the Carousel Ballroom in the city allowed them to take their music in any number of new and unexpected directions, but also to call upon their roots in acoustic music.

New Riders of the Purple Sage, 1970 (l. to r.): David Nelson, Jerry Garcia, John “Marmaduke” Dawson, Mickey Hart, Dave Torbert (Early promotional photo)

By the end of the heady decade, numerous rock bands, most based either in the Bay Area or the vicinity of Los Angeles, looked to country music as a refuge from the sizzling, cranium-searing electricity of what was being labeled acid-rock or psychedelic music; a newly emergent back-to-the-land movement (“Let’s live on a commune in the desert and grow alfalfa!”) and a desire to simplify life seemed to go hand in hand with the lonesome sound of steel guitars, fiddles and songs touting the richness of a rural, less encumbered lifestyle away from the clatter of the city.

John “Marmaduke” Dawson (Photo by Herb Greene, from the NRPS official website)

The ever-restless, hyper-prolific Garcia counted himself among those looking for new outlets. Although the Dead were arguably at their most experimental and electric at the time, he began learning to play the pedal steel, an instrument inextricably associated with country music. He incorporated it into Dead concerts but that avenue didn’t allow him to fully explore its potential. For that, he teamed up with his Peninsula friend Nelson, who had been keeping busy with a group called the New Delhi River Band, and singer-songwriter John Dawson, who went by the nickname Marmaduke. Working up songs largely authored by Dawson, as well as some choice covers, the trio requested assistance from Dead bassist Phil Lesh and drummer Mickey Hart and morphed into the New Riders of the Purple Sage, taking their name from the 1912 Western novel Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey.

With Dave Torbert (who had also been a member of the New Delhi outfit) replacing Lesh on bass, the quintet began gigging around the Bay Area in 1969 and, by the spring of the following year, opening for the Dead on tour. A typical gig of the period might find the Dead beginning a concert with an all-acoustic set, followed by the New Riders and finally the electric Dead: with Garcia participating in all three configurations, he might keep busy onstage for upwards of six or more hours during a given evening.

From the Festival Express documentary (l. to r.): Rick Danko, Janis Joplin, John “Marmaduke” Dawson, Jerry Garcia, in 1970

As the New Riders gained in popularity in their own right, and with the Dead finding a wider audience via their acoustic-based 1970 albums Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty , it was not long before record companies began sniffing around. Columbia Records, helmed at the time by the renowned Clive Davis, signed the group and they went into San Francisco’s Wally Heider Studios toward the end of 1970 to record their debut album, self-producing with the help of engineer Stephen Barncard. They ultimately laid down 10 original Dawson compositions that varied in style and temperament, drawing nearly all of the songs from their live setlists.

A 1971 concert ad for Berkeley, Calif. I’ll take a ticket for each, please!

The album, self-titled, was the only official NRPS release to feature Garcia on pedal steel, and as such it serves as a shining example of his uncanny ability both to absorb the traditional techniques of the Nashville masters and—with his head still fully immersed in the psychedelic world—to find new mind-bending means of expression on the instrument that virtually no one else had ever considered.

There would be one more personnel change as the album sessions were underway, however: Drummer Hart was out (he also left the Dead for a period of four years), and Spencer Dryden, who had driven Jefferson Airplane during that band’s prime years of 1966-70, was in. He proved a better fit, a steadier, more rock-solid sticksman than Hart, less prone to tossing in offbeat, sometimes ill-considered percussive accents. Hart appeared on two tunes, “Dirty Business” and “Last Lonely Eagle,” both of which also featured pianist George “Commander Cody” Frayne, the leader of the rising local band Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.

Related: Our Album Rewind of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen’s debut

Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar

For all of the color that Garcia brought to the sound, though, there is no doubt that Dawson was the primary creative force of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. As sole composer and lead vocalist throughout the album, this was his vision. The album’s lead track, “I Don’t Know You,” also served often as the opening number during the group’s concerts. A melodic, uptempo rocker, it tells a simple but mysterious tale of a woman appearing in the protagonist’s life unexpectedly, or maybe not: “I don’t know you, you’ve been lately on my mind,” sings Marmaduke as Nelson and Torbert join in harmony, but soon after he’s telling another story: “Come sit beside me, I’m not sure if you’re still there.”

“Whatcha Gonna Do,” which follows, slows the pace, the singer again musing on a woman of no fixed presence: “Where you gonna go on the planet today?” he asks to a springy rhythm, then leaves her appearance to chance: “Take a look around ya now and what do you see?/If you could go somewhere’s else now, where would that be?/When you find a place to hide, come and tell me where it is now/I’ll still be sitting here, singing in the air.”

A longtime staple of the band’s live shows, “Portland Woman” is an oft-told—but usually not quite as frankly—tale of a traveling musician’s yearning for temporary companionship: “If I don’t find someone tonight, I just won’t make it through,” Dawson laments. Mission accomplished, he heads back out on the road the next day, but this time he’s having second thoughts: “The little girl that I had found, her I left behind/But I haven’t felt too good since I left Portland yesterday/I’m going back to Portland town now, what more can I say?” he sings with longing and firmness in his voice.

Another NRPS perennial, and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, was “Henry.” Whereas most pro-drug-related songs of the era still attempted to be cagey, Marmaduke was having none of that. “Henry” is an unabashed tribute to a high-volume smuggler of weed heading toward Acapulco, then back to the States through the rugged mountains of Mexico, to the “50 people waiting back at home for Henry’s load.” One of the speedier songs on the album—reflecting Henry’s “fast, fast, fast” driving down the “twisty mountain roads”—it was always a fun romp, packed with crisp country licks from Nelson and a playful, bluegrass-y pulse from the rhythm section,  that gave the band’s toke-happy fans an opportunity to celebrate a very different kind of outlaw than those usually found in country tunes.

“Dirty Business” is the album’s most unorthodox tune, a showcase for the extreme sounds that Garcia had already discovered he could get out of his pedal steel. At times taking it so far from country music as to be nearly unrecognizable—haunting, eerie, unsettling, just plain nasty—his performance here is the epitome of his visionary approach to the instrument. Garcia gives the ballad a sense of foreboding and dread that its lyrics—of the “dirty business” perpetrated behind the scenes at a coal mine where frustrated workers and management are at odds—desperately call for.

An age-old country music standby—that of the great train robbery—is next. “Glendale Train”—which reprises the band’s favored stepped-up bluegrass tempo and features Garcia returning to the banjo, which he played during his Peninsula days—is one of several tunes on the recording that find the Dawson-Nelson-Torbert trio engaging in harmonies that hew closely to standard bluegrass while veering just far enough away to remind us that this is no run-of-the-mill country-rock band. Nor is this a tale with a typically happy good-guys-win ending: Pity poor Amos White, the baggage man, for his is not a fate any honest workin’ man deserves.

In 1971, songs warning of impending environmental cataclysm were few and far between, but in “Garden of Eden,” Dawson was on it. The “cool clear water ain’t quite as cool and clear as it ought to be,” he proclaims, and there’s “smoke fillin’ everywhere.” We “live in the Garden of Eden,” he reminds us, “don’t know why we want to tear the whole thing to the ground.” Sad to say, those who could do something about it didn’t—the song, despite its pretty melody, is just as relevant today as in 1971.

“All I Ever Wanted” is a thing of beauty, a tender, sensitive love song which gives Garcia an outlet to display the most tear-jerking sounds that can be coaxed from a pedal steel guitar. Marmaduke’s keening vocal performance can’t exactly be called a croon, but the soft edges he brings to the lyric—how much more to the point does it get than “All I ever wanted was your loving?”—define the sound of affection.

It’s followed by “Last Lonely Eagle,” one of the most powerful songs on the album and another that was years ahead of its time. With stellar vocal harmonies driving the appropriately uplifting chorus, and a sense of drama balancing out its discomfiting message, Dawson writes of those who’ve “forgotten their dreams and they’ve cut off their hair” (hello, David Crosby!), while imploring us to “Take a last, flying look at the last lonely eagle/He’s soaring the length of the land/Shed a tear for the fate of the last lonely eagle, for you know that he never will land.”

Finally, there’s the stomping “Louisiana Lady,” in the grand tradition of road warrior trucker tunes like Dave Dudley’s “Six Days on the Road.” In this variation, our intrepid traveler has been on the road for a full week, “so beat my vision’s just a yellow haze.” If he pops a little speed and drives faster, he can cut an hour off the time on his way to New Orleans, where “it’s gonna be worthwhile, I’m gonna see my lady smile.” Another crowd-rouser in concert, the song, like several of its predecessors, features stunning harmony and a vibe that’s somewhere between hardcore hippie and good ol’ American tradition, a perfect sendoff.

Released in August 1971, the album featured, on its cover, the band’s striking red, white and blue, and orange and gold, logo—a green cactus standing tall at its center—that would become familiar to all of its fans. Although not a huge hit, the LP peaked at #39 in Billboard and helped establish the New Riders as an entity apart from the Grateful Dead, although they would continue to open shows for the more successful band for years, even while touring on their own. By the 1972 followup, Powerglide , Garcia would bow out of the group, concentrating full-time on the mothership, replaced by Buddy Cage on steel—the band had seen him performing with Canadian folkies Ian and Sylvia during the 1970 cross-Canada Festival Express that was later featured in a documentary of the same title.

Related: A 1976 interview with Jerry Garcia

Sadly, all but one of the key members of the 1971 New Riders—Garcia, Dawson, Torbert and Dryden—have left us. Only Nelson survives, still leading a NRPS group while also performing with his own David Nelson Band. While NRPS is only rarely lauded in the same reverent tones as the groups that featured the also-deceased Gram Parsons, or even the early Eagles, they nonetheless broke through barriers, taking a different approach to the country-rock hybrid than anyone else. Their debut album remains an invigorating, prescient listen more than 50 years after its release.

Watch Jerry Garcia rehearsing with NRPS in 1971, from the 1972 film Fillmore

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9 Comments so far

I feel to be so blessed to have been a young man in the 60’s with the magic of the Bay Area and the incredible music available practically every night in SF and surrounding areas. It’s cliche, but you really had to be there. It lives on in my dreams and memories.

What a great album. Really enjoyed the article. Thank you

As a freshman in college and an aspiring guitarist, I lived and breathed NRPS.

Thanks for doing this, Jeff.

I can’t believe it took me this long to write about this album!

next mission: write about marc benno.. but i’ll read whatever you write…

Trip down memory lane, Jerry and these musicians still live on with the magic that they created so long ago. I remember going to those shows, they really were that good. Gonna go put the album on the record player and try to remember what caused each scratch…..

Loved the band so much I named our family dog Henry. My brothers and I had a great laugh years later when we told mom & dad where his name come from.

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Jack Draper beats Matteo Berrettini in Stuttgart Open final for first ATP Tour title

Jack Draper lost the first set of the Stuttgart Open final 6-3 to Italian Matteo Berrettini - a former two-time winner of the tournament - but fought back to win a second-set tiebreak and then the third set decider, clinching the 22-year-old Brit the first ATP Tour title of his career

Monday 17 June 2024 06:16, UK

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British No 1 Jack Draper secured his first ATP Tour title by fighting back to beat Italy's Matteo Berrettini 3-6 7-6 6-4.

Superb serving and power from Berrettini saw him clinch the first set 6-3 but a tight second set saw both players remain on serve the whole way through, with Draper missing two set-point chances at 5-4.

Berrettini, having come through that period, failed to convert two break-point chances himself at 5-5, with Draper showing guts to dig out a 7-5 tie-break success and force a decider.

Draper then produced the key break of the match at 3-3 in the third set, moving ahead and holding serve twice to clinch victory.

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The 22-year-old previously reached ATP 250 event finals on two occasions, losing to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino at the Sofia Open in November 2023 and to Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka at the Adelaide International back in January.

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"It is incredible. Thanks for all the support. It was a really tough match and I am really happy to win my first title. It means so much to me," Draper said afterwards.

"There has been a lot of hard work and a lot of tough moments. It's been up and down but I'm really glad with the way I played, and it's a testament to the work I have been doing.

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"I have to play in London on Tuesday. In tennis, there is not a lot of time to celebrate."

Beaten finalist Berrettini has eight ATP Tour titles in his career so far, including two at the Stuttgart Open and five on grass.

"Congratulations to Jack - an unbelievable week, an unbelievable match. I am sure this guy is going to lift more trophies," the Italian said.

"I got close and this will hurt for a bit, but that is tennis. Hopefully this is the first step on the grass-court season."

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Step into a DreamWorks Animation film at Universal Orlando. Here's what's inside

Ready your best ogre yell! Get set to board the Caterbus! Summon your inner Dragon Warrior! DreamWorks Land is officially open at Universal Orlando Resort.

Boasting new interactive attractions and shows for the entire family, the area offers a themed environment that transports guest to the worlds of DreamWorks Animation’s franchises, such as Shrek, Trolls and Kung Fu Panda.

Universal Orlando invited members of the media to tour DreamWorks Land and talk to park officials about what it took to bring the newest attraction at the Florida park to life. Here's what to expect from the brand-new section:

What is Universal Orlando's DreamWorks Land?

DreamWorks Land is an immersive new area, seeking to expand on the theming from the DreamWorks Animation Studios movies. It hosts tons of new attractions for the entire family including a family friendly coaster, multiple interactive play areas, live entertainment, and character meet and greets.

Creative director of Universal Creative at Universal Orlando Resort Dean Orion shared his excitement watching guest enjoy the new land, saying it took a "big team and long hours" to get to where they were today. He also shed light on why it was important to construct attractions geared toward younger parkgoers.

"I think it was really important for us to have a place like this, where it's specifically designed for families with young kids. Universal is known for thrill rides and roller coasters and lots of stuff, it's kind of skewed to an older demographic," Orion said. "What's great about this is there's fun for little kids, there's fun for families. It brings out the kid in everyone."

Where is DreamWorks Land? What did it replace in the park?

DreamWorks Land is located in the former spot of Woody Woodpecker's KidZone, near the Animal Actors show and E.T. Adventure ride.

The park closed down the themed play area back in January 2023, along with Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster, Curious George Goes to Town, Fievel's Playland, DreamWorks Destination, and Donkey's Meet & Greet to make room for the new area.

But don't fret, not only does DreamWorks Land bring back dedicated play spaces for the littlest of parkgoers, there are some hidden odes to the former character's area.

"There is a Woody Easter egg in the land, but I'm not going to say where it is. You'll have to find it for yourself," Orion teased.

Would I need to see the movies first to understand and have fun in the park?

Not at all. While the amount of worldbuilding and details within the new section might seem intimidating to someone not familiar with any of the particular franchises, Universal officials and attraction creators assure that everyone will enjoy DreamWorks Land regardless of their knowledge of the movies.

If you are a major fan of the movies, you'll will appreciate the attention to detail within each section. From Shrek's outhouse (which connects to a slide that plays farts while you go down) to colorful greenery seen throughout the Trolls universe, you'll spot some well-known imagery while making your way through the three sections.

"These three movie franchises have been hugely successful. Kung Fu Panda 4 just came out. We had Trolls 3 come out in the fall and then a year ago, on Christmas, we had Puss-N-Boots, so these are very popular characters and stories that people are loving when they go to the movies," Orion said. "It was kind of a no brainer to pick these characters."

Meet iconic DreamWorks characters in person, such as Shrek, Po and Polly

Speaking of DreamWorks movies, guest have the chance to "walk into a movie screen" and interact with character one-on-one.

Just outside of his 35-foot-tall cottage, you can meet Shrek, Princess Fiona and Donkey within his swamp. Fans especially shared their excited for the character interaction to return to the parks.

"It's been amazing to watch and see every day people lining up to meet Shrek and Donkey and Fiona," Orion said about the fan reaction to the characters. "Really, there's characters all over."

Guests can also meet other characters from the various DreamWorks Movies, such as Puss-N-Boots, King Julien and Gabby at the “DreamWorks Character Zone.”

What are all the new interactive play areas in DreamWorks Land?

Orion said interactivity is so important for theme parks, particularly for younger kids when engaging with the attractions. Want to scope of the best play areas before you got? Here's a breakdown:

• Shrek’s Swamp for Little Ogres: This ogre-sized play area features four fun slides, wet play areas and aplayground where guests can climb, bounce and splash around as well as venture into Shrek’s outhouse.
• Mama Luna Feline Fiesta: Inspired by the film, "Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish," this newinteractive experience that takes place in Mama Luna’s retirement home for cats. Here, guests get to play with Mama Luna’s many cats on vivid interactive screens activated by buttons, bells, maracas and levers.
• King Harold’s Swamp Symphony: Guests can create their own melodious masterpiece as they trigger a choir ofever-changing frog ribbits by continually stomping on an array of interactive lily pads.
• Poppy’s Playground: Nestled under a giant, 20-foot mushroom is Poppy’s Playground – a shaded play area featuring colorful flowers and bugs with a bountiful array of fun bouncing and climbing structures for the youngest of trolls.
• Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp: Inspired by the hit Kung Fu Panda films, this all-new play has both wet and dry play areas. Guests have the opportunity to help the pandas wash and dry their laundry with enormous water cannons, dump buckets, giant fans and more.

'It's bright, it's colorful:' DreamWorks Land's new rollercoaster, Trolls Trollercoaster

There is one new ride in the new land, a Trolls-inspired coaster called the "Trolls Trollercoaster." Senior Manager of Ride & Show Engineering Kristen Steimer shared how they came up for the idea for the new coaster, adding it's fun for the entire family.

"We wanted to make sure (the ride) was fun for the whole family but we also wanted to make sure we were following the lines of our DreamWorks partners, so we picked Trolls because it's bright, it's colorful. Kids love it," Steimer said. "We thought you can hang out with your friends, Poppy Chenille, Branch and all those those fun Trolls characters. We really wanted the guests to be able to experience it like they're in the movie."

The coaster follows the beloved characters after they stroll through a dazzling marquee, having to take a ride on the iconic Caterbus to "escape evil spiders as they speed along a bright orange and yellow track."

Head's up: Riders must be 36 inches to ride the roller coaster, with those between 36 and 48 inches needing an adult to accompany them.

What are the shows in DreamWorks Land?

As for shows, there will be two shows — "Po Live" and DreamWorks "Imagination Celebration."

"Po Live" is a digital, interactive meet and greet experience that gives guests a chance to meet the legendary dragon warrior, portrayed by Jack Black in all four films, having the character depicted on a large screen and answering live questions thanks to a voice actor behind-the-scenes.

DreamWorks "Imagination Celebration" brings together characters from the different franchises, singing and dancing to iconic songs from their movies. Referred to as a multisensory adventure, it combines hit pop songs, high-energy dancing, and advanced technology.

"It's a great way to see all three of those IPs (intellectual property) and just have a really immersive show experience," Steimer said.

What treats can you get in DreamWorks Land?

If you need refuel after wreaking havoc in Shrek's Swamp and getting drenched in Po's Training Camp, there are two quick-service stands in DreamWorks Land — Swamp Snacks and Troll Treats.

If you've ever wondered what ogres like to nibble on throughout the day, Universal's Culinary Operations team decided to answer that question. And it looks like this would be Shrek's favorite snack spread:

• Far Far A Waffle , $11.49 - Pepperoni or Ham & Cheese
• Shrekzel , $12.29- Pretzel served with cheese
• Swamp Dog , $9.49 - Hot dog "Oozing green cheese hot dog wrapped in pizza tree bark"
• Mud Puddle Pudding , $5.99 -Chocolate pudding, cookie crumbs, cookie cake, and gummy bugs
• Frozen Ogre Sour Apple Ice Pop  – $6.99
• Chonkey Donkey Chocolate Ice Pop  – $6.99

Director of Culinary Operations and Executive Chef of Universal Orlando Ron Cope shared his team watched the movies "over and over again," looking for any details they could relate back to their menu. When it came down to coming up with ideas for the new treats, Cope said they nailed it pretty quickly.

"We do a lot of different tastings with different groups, different executives, but I think with this one, we got really close to it in the beginning," Cope said. " … You can just see it on people's faces when they're eating (the snacks), you know when somebody likes their food or not just by the way they're doing it."

If marshland morsels aren't your thing? Understood but everyone screams (usually positively) for ice cream! Right by the entrance of Trollercoaster, there's a beatbox-shaped stand selling treats inspired by the Trolls characters:

• Poppy-licious Pink , $7.49 - Pink Lemonade Soft Serve with Flower Sprinkles
• BroZone Berry , $7.49 - Huckleberry Soft Serve

What does the shopping look like in DreamWorks Land?

After exploring all the shows and play sets in DreamWorks Land, guests can snag a memento of their time in the different universes at the outdoor gift shop, conveniently located in the middle of the land. From several character plushies to cheeky shirts that reference jokes within the movies, you'll find something to commemorate your trip.

How much are tickets to Universal Orlando theme parks?

Single-day, single-park  tickets start at $114 for children and $119 for adults .

Universal also offers Florida resident ticket specials and different multiple-day park passes to its theme parks, including Volcano Bay.

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Visit zelenograd, popular places to visit.

You can learn about the history of Moscow with a trip to Red Square. Experience the area's fascinating museums and acclaimed theater scene.

Moscow Kremlin

Visit the most iconic square in Russia, which is bordered by many of the city’s most famous landmarks.

Bolshoi Theatre

A centerpiece of the Russian arts scene, this theater’s magnificent auditorium and top-tier productions will impress even the most jaded theatergoer.

St. Basil's Cathedral

Think of Russia and you probably picture this iconic building, whose onion-shaped domes overlook the Moscow skyline.

Arbat Street

You can learn about the history of Moscow with a visit to Arbat Street. Take in the acclaimed theater scene in this culturally rich area.

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Learn about the events happening at Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy during your trip to Moscow. Wander the parks and gardens while you're in the area.

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Molzhaninovsky District

When in Molzhaninovsky District, you can plan a visit to Church of the Nativity in Cherkizovo and Ezhi Monument, some noteworthy sights in the nearby area.

Northern Administrative Okrug

If you're spending time in Northern Administrative Okrug, check out sights like Pokrovskoe-Streshnevo Park or Arena CSKA and hop on the metro to see more the city at Rechnoy Vokzal Station or Vodny Stadium Station.

North-Western Administrative Okrug

While you're in North-Western Administrative Okrug, take in top sights like Otkrytiye Arena or Pokrovskoe-Streshnevo Park, and hop on the metro to see more the city at Tushinskaya Station or Skhodnenskaya Station.

North-Eastern Administrative Okrug

If you're spending time in North-Eastern Administrative Okrug, check out sights like Moscow Botanical Garden of Academy of Sciences or Moskvarium and hop on the metro to see more the city at Otradnoye Station or Botanichesky Sad Station.

While in Kuntsevo, you'll enjoy the museums. Catch the metro at Molodyozhnaya Station to see top sights like Sfera Museum while you're in the area.

You might take some time to check out the abundant dining options in Presnensky. Spend some time visiting top spots like Russian White House, and catch the metro at Ulitsa 1905 Goda Station or Vystavochnaya Station to see more of the area.

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