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Josh and James have finally conquered the putty application and moved on to sanding, which leaves Longhorn Trey and Gary all alone. The sanding proves less arduous for Teams Beekman and Beefcake, so they are quickly collecting their clue after delivering their seats.

Trey gets the approval to move on to the sanding next. Poor…poor Gary, on the other hand, still can’t get the putty right. If his attempts thus far are any indication, he may still be there today. This is the second Roadblock with which the superfan team has not only struggled but pushed their team to the brink of elimination. They’d better hope that the next challenge is a huge obstacle for at least one team. But honestly, at this point, they should just be channeling all hopefulness toward Gary just completing the Roadblock.

Practice make perfect (or rather, passable) for Gary as he is no longer the only one still applying putty but he’s still in last place. Not in last place but not as much in first as they would like are James & Abba who have now moved on to their third and final rat collection location.

Over at the Shootkir Market, Abbie & Ryan are the first to arrive and find their marked fish. The next clue is the Detour: Pound the Metal or Pound the Cotton. For Metal, the teams have to help a blacksmith hammer a metal rod into a spike. For Cotton, they must use a stick to pound cotton into a feathery consistency and then stuff the cotton into a mattress, before sewing it shut. Once again demonstrating a sense of teamwork I didn’t think they had in them, Ryan defers to Abbie’s ability to sew and they take Cotton. He even goes as far as to tell her, “You tell me what I need to do.” That is why I think these guys are the team to beat. Not only do they complement each well as a team; it’s actually helping them excel on the Race.

The twins and monster truckers are the next two teams at the Detour. Following a quick fish-finding expedition for both, they each select Metal. Checking in with Abbie & Ryan, he is giddy that it seems to be working smoothly and he gleefully chants that Abbie’s one year of fashion institute has paid off.

James & Abba have finished their Bangladesh walking tour/rat scavenger hunt and are now heading to the Pitstop. As they settle into their cab, Abba is using an entire bottle of hand sanitizer on his foot, which apparently got immersed in sewage at some point. And you thought the rats were the most disgusting things they encountered this leg.

Back at the Roadblock, the same order holds with Trey completing it first and Gary bringing up the rear. Will explains that they aren’t happy about being last again but since they are still on the Race, they can win it. Gary was right to describe Will as having a Napoleon complex. With the Longhorns only a short time ahead of them, the substitutes refer to themselves as the comeback kids.

And what do you know…these guys may have just caught another break. Trey & Lexi’s cab breaks down in the middle of the street, which allows Gary & Will to sneak on past them.

After a hard-fought Fast Forward, James & Abba are all smiles with news from Phil that they are indeed team number one. I have to say that I am bit saddened by the number of puns I didn’t get to use because Headbangers Ball didn’t get to do the Pound the Metal Detour.

Back at the Detour, for the first time in history, Cotton is proving harder than Metal. Or at least, the tasks named as such. Abbie & Ryan have left too much of their cotton out of the mattress and have to correct the problem. Meanwhile, Natalie & Nadiaya and Rob & Kelley are a quick one-two finish at Metal. Both are now heading to the Pitstop but are heading via a water ferry and then by foot to the mat and Phil.

Teams Beekman and Beefcake have arrived at the fish searching portion of the leg. It doesn’t really matter that our friendly neighborhood goat farmers Josh & Brent find the marked fish first because Ja(y)mesX2 gets it right after them. Surprisingly, both teams go with Pound the Cotton.

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