The more things change, the more they stay the same as Arun & Natalia struggled with directions, the already-eliminated Michael & Moe were again eliminated, and Ryan & Dusty reclaimed first place after a 19-month layoff. Arun & Natalia go into episode 5 hoping to avoid their ongoing direction debacles, while Ryan & Dusty look to maintain their frontrunner status.
Episode 5 begins with the six remaining teams setting off from Alstatten, Switzerland and heading straight to the Road Block.
ROAD BLOCK: Jump at the Opportunity
One member of each team must complete the world’s second-highest bungee jump at Verzasca Dam, accompanied by every Race fan’s favourite sidekick—The Travelocity Roaming Gnome.
Ryan & Dusty and Kim & Penn are the first two teams to begin the two-and-a-half-hour drive to the dam, allowing plenty of time for the nerves to seep in.
Lulu & Lala and Raquel & Cayla are the second group to depart Alstatten, intending to follow each other to the dam. However, the intentions were for naught, as Raquel & Cayla quickly find themselves taking a much-maligned scenic route, opening the door for the last two teams of Akbar & Sheri and Arun & Natalia to make up ground.
Ryan & Dusty and Kim & Penn are the first two teams to arrive at the dam, with Dusty being the first to take the plunge, bravely followed by Kim.
ROUTE INFO
Teams must drive to Piazza Carlo Battaglini to receive their next clue.
Back at the dam, Lulu & Lala are the third team to arrive, leaving Raquel & Cayla in their dust and nowhere in sight. Lala completes the Road Block, while Akbar & Sheri leapfrog Raquel & Cayla into fourth place and arrive at the dam.
After justifiably yelling out 16 “Oh My Gods/Goodnesses” (I re-watched the tape), Sheri too took the plunge and completed the Road Block. A much-surprised Raquel & Cayla arrived at the Road Block in an unexpected fifth place. Cayla makes seemingly quick work of the bungee, with Arun & Natalia in a distant sixth, only arriving at the dam after the other five teams had completed the task.
Back at the front of the pack, we find perennial frontrunners Ryan & Dusty, the first team to arrive at Piazza Carlo Battaglini and receive their Detour clue.
DETOUR: Bartender Race OR Sausage Encase
In Bartender Race, teams must gather twelve bottles of wine and twelve bags of chestnuts from local vendors and race to the top of a 400 ft. flight of stairs to drop off their goods at a local cocktail party. In Sausage Encase, teams must make 9 feet of sausage, divide it up into four perfectly-coiled portions and have it pass inspection by a local Swiss butcher.
Ryan & Dusty opt for the physically-demanding Bartender and begin trekking up and down the 400ft staircase. Lulu & Lala continue to move up the leaderboard and pull ahead of Kim & Penn into second place. The twins opt for Sausage Encase, which will prove far less time-consuming than Bartender if done correctly.
The aforementioned Kim & Penn slip into third place and partake in Bartender, where even self-proclaimed fitness fanatics Ryan & Dusty voice their frustrations and struggles with the task.
Akbar & Oh My God’s own Sheri arrive at the Detour in fourth place on a high from the Road Block. That high is short-lived as the married pair grow frustrated with one another while bickering and bottle-breaking their way through Bartender.
Ryan & Dusty are again the first team to complete the task and receive their next clue.
PIT STOP: Parco Ciani
Teams must meet Phil on the mat at Parco Ciani, where the last team to arrive may be eliminated.
Lulu & Lala make quick work of Sausage Encase and continue their surge towards the top of the leaderboard. For the first time the entire race, Ryan & Dusty appear to have the most minor of setbacks when Dusty suffers a leg cramp, halting the best friends temporarily. However, the duo ultimately powers through, and wouldn’t you know…
TEAM NUMBER 1: Ryan & Dusty
Kim & Penn continue to hold onto third place and complete the Detour; meanwhile, a well-deserved new team number 2 emerges:
TEAM NUMBER 2: Lulu & Lala
TEAM NUMBER 3: Kim & Penn
Throughout the whole leg, we find Raquel & Cayla in fifth place amongst the detoured teams, while Arun & Natalia have yet to arrive, further widening the gap between the father/daughter duo and the rest of the racers.
Frustrations continue to flare for Akbar & Sheri as they continue to battle the stairs in Bartender, with Raquel & Cayla breathing closely down their necks, hoping to move into fourth place.
Akbar & Sheri and Raquel & Cayla complete their Detours fourth and fifth respectively, with Sheri also being derailed by one of those dreaded leg cramps that Dusty suffered, allowing Raquel & Cayla to narrowly edge out the married couple into fourth.
TEAM NUMBER 4: Raquel & Cayla
TEAM NUMBER 5: Akbar & Sheri
Not even the editors of The Race could hide this one. Arun & Natalia are once again at the back at the pack and far behind the others, so far behind that even the customary country-greeter with Phil at the Pit Stop’s shift was over and left before the duo arrived.
TEAM NUMBER: 6 Arun & Natalia
With a classic Phil tease, the duo is safe and is informed that this leg was a non-elimination leg, sparing Arun & Natalia once again.
Arun & Natalia know they have had the breaks of all breaks this season of The Race and will have to quickly sharpen their directional skills. Will the father/daughter duo be able to rebound and perhaps pip the ever-bickering Akbar & Sheri into fifth place?
NEXT STOP: France!
Power Rankings:
1) Ryan & Dusty (1, 1)
2) Kim & Penn (2, 3)
3) Lulu & Lala (4, 2)
4) Raquel & Cayla (3, 5)
5) Akbar & Sheri (5, 5)
6) Arun & Natalia (6, 6)
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