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Previously on The Amazing Race, Steve & Aly were unable to overcome the lead that the other teams had on them, particularly because they had to perform a Speed Bump and were then U-Turned. So far this season, both non-elimination rounds have been utterly unnecessary and achieved nothing other than dragging out the misery of Jonathan & Harley and now Steve & Aly for an extra leg. And based on the calendar and the finale date of the show, we’re likely to have at least one more non-elimination round. Sigh.

A modest proposal: Three more teams each season and zero non-elimination legs. It’s just crazy enough to work.

The teams are still in Africa, and they’re spending yet another night camping in tents. All the teams share dinner together, and Matt tells Jelani & Jen, “No hard feelings about the U-Turn, right?” Yeah, about that. Jelani isn’t really holding a grudge, but it’s not him that Matt & Ashley need to worry about. Jenny is pissed and she notes that the hairstylists wasted their U-Turn, because she and Jelani are still in the game. Also, they still have a U-Turn they can use if it comes up again. Guess who they’ll plan to use it on?

At 12:19 p.m., Laura & Tyler are the first team to depart. They are directed to go to Amsterdam, where teams will take a taxi to a place called Jagershuis, where they will find their next clue.

This Amazing Race is sending the teams on a really odd route. They’ve already been to Europe, and now they’re headed back. It’s an unusual approach to routing this season.

Matt & Ashley are next out, just one minute behind the blind-dating (but really just friends) Laura & Tyler. Matt has a beard, and says that he’s not shaving until they win the million dollars. We sort of hope they get eliminated tonight just to see what happens.

Only about 15 minutes behind the two leading teams are Hayley & Blair. Blair notes that they are headed to the airport where Hayley “fell in love” with their rugged pilot. She notes that Handsome Pilot Man wasn’t wearing a ring, but Blair teases her that he was most likely married.

Ultimately, we really didn’t need to see any departure times, because all teams are boarding the same plane. Ugh, why did we even waste our time on the last four paragraphs? It’s probably going to be a non-elimination leg, too. Wasteful paragraphs all around! So, is there anything else you’d like to talk about this recap? Game of Thrones, maybe? The opening weekend for Avengers: Age of Ultron?

At last, the teams have arrived at the clue box, which means it’s time for a Roadblock. The teams must decide “who’s got a nice set of klompen?” Klompen are the wooden shoes that the Dutch have been known for wearing for more than 800 years now. In this challenge, the person finding the “klompen” must find a shoe that matches the specific one being kept by a cobbler. This task is harder than it looks, because there are minute details that make it difficult to determine which shoes go together. They will then hand the correct shoes to the cobbler, who will give them their next clue.

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