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Since we have been subjected to a fairly predictable Race so far this season with regards to how the teams are actually performing, will this be the week to shake things up?

Before we get to that, here's something else that is wholly predictable...my rankings heading into this week:

1. Drs. Travis & Nicole
2. Dating New Englanders Jason & Amy
3. Exes Tim & Marie
4. Baseball wives Nicky & Kim
5. Team Okies Tim & Danny
6. (Tie) LA Kings Ice girls Ally & Ashley and Afghanimals/cousins Leo & Jamal

It's 8:33 a.m. and Tim & Marie are standing in the middle of the Sopot Pier waiting. With the last leg ending in a virtual tie with the exes, doctors and New Englanders, who leaves first is really an inconsequential detail. But for the sake of thoroughness, following the exes a minute later is Jason & Amy and then the next minute belongs to Travis & Nicole.

Because anything but unfounded and unparalleled confidence would simply be “not Marie,” the female half of the exes says that she thinks that how they played the Express Passes last leg was the right choice because of the U-Turn. Then Tim adds that being in first after playing the Pass feels good. Clearly, he overvalues the one-minute lead they have on the others.

Where are our teams heading this week? Vienna, Austria...by train. The first batch of teams gets to the station to find out that they will be arriving in Vienna with a layover in Warsaw, Poland. So with all teams but Ally & Ashley and Leo & Jamal on the first train, my prediction appears to be coming to fruition.

Oops, spoke too soon. Even though the Race Spouses of Ice girls and Afghanimals left two and a half hours after the first teams, the four-hour layover in Warsaw brings them all back together. Bravo to the producers for finding new modes of transportation to level to the playing field. Last week was the boat from Norway to Poland and this week it’s a train. Maybe they decided to limit air travel whenever possible thanks to the Texans’ fumble.

And the clumping continues as all seven teams pour into the Vienna Opera House to find an actor dressed like Verdi's Rigoletto waiting for them. Streaming through the halls of the 150-year-old venue to the wardrobe department, the teams are given one of those rare moments to look around and enjoy the surroundings. Since they are all together and at the mercy of this jester, taking a second to stop and marvel at this historic landmark should be expected and required. How many of these people would find themselves standing in this same spot? Probably zero. This is it, people, soak it in.

With the hunchbacked clown’s duties of clue distribution done, it’s Detour time with a Fast Forward side dish. The choices are Light Brigade or Masquerade. For Light Brigade, the team has to assemble an intricate chandelier correctly but if it isn't right, it will be raised to the ceiling and dropped to the floor causing them to start over from scratch. For Masquerade, they head to the Austria Theatre Museum and select two masks to wear. Then they must find the exact replica of their own masks on the dozens of dancers waltzing in the ballroom.

But wait, there's more...

The Fast Forward this week is a doozy. A 500-foot bungee jump off the top of the tallest tower in Vienna, to be exact. Even though all the teams are at the opera house at the same time and get the Fast Forward clue at the same time, only two teams decide to pursue it – Jason & Amy and Travis & Nicole.

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