But. Phil made no mention of a Speed Bump or any other penalty that usually takes place for the last place team in a non-elimination round.
Nat & Kat were the first to leave, with the clue telling them to get to St. Petersburg, Russia, by taxi, train and plane. So, it was a taxi to the train station, where it was quickly learned that by the time the train arrived all teams would also have arrived.
It was an overnight train to Stockholm.
I would have been just fine not seeing Nat & Kat and Brook & Claire finding who had the worse smelling feet.
When they got to Stockholm it was a mad dash to the taxis. With Chad & Stephanie not easily finding one, which had Chad in full Boy Bitch mode.
As the teams headed to find the Rostral Columns on Vasilievsky Island, several of the teams made comments about the beauty of St. Petersburg. The funniest was Nick saying he liked how they keep all their buildings instead of blowing them up.
The Rostral Column clue was a detour. Classical Music or Classic Cinema. Good detour. All the teams struggled, particularly with the music option, with several giving up on the music and opting for the movies. Nick & Vicki opted out of the music to the movie then back to the music. Which is what put them in last.
Chad turned into his Baby Huey Boy Bitch mode over the frustration with the music. I could see why it was frustrating. Listening to 3 different tunes on antique gramophones, then finding the same tunes being played on a piano, picking up the sheet music, putting it in the proper order. And getting it wrong over and over again.
At the Classic Cinema option Thomas quickly found the clip that matched the classic on the screen. This was frustrating to Michael and Kevin who had been hunting a long time. Others had luck, too, before Michael and Kevin finally found a correct clip.
The final pre-Pitstop task was a Roadblock. Teams had to follow a marked route to a country store in Aleksandrovskaya. Jill & Thomas left St. Petersburg in 1st place. But they got lost.
Brook & Claire found the country store and Roadblock clue first. For the Roadblock the racer had to put on a classic Russian Babushka outfit, complete with kerchief. Then had to find a sack of 50 potatoes, then find a wheelbarrow, fill it with fresh cow manure, then find the Babushkas who, in Russian, and via demos, showed what had to be done to plant 50 spuds.
The Babushka bit was very funny.
Back at the pianos, Chad finally listened to Stephanie and they finally got it right and the clue.
Meanwhile, Michael & Kevin showed up at the country store in 2nd place, with Kevin decided to put on a dress. Jill & Thomas finally found the country store, with Jill zipping through the spud planting.
Michael & Kevin seemed to have a big a lead. Their taxi pulled up at St. Isaac's Cathedral, the site of the Pitstop, first, but they could not find Phil. Brook & Claire's taxi stopped for gas which gave time for Jill & Thomas to pass them. With Michael & Kevin being befuddled, Jill & Thomas came in 1st.
Phil did not seem as happy to see Thomas & Jill as he was the other teams. Thomas is the most annoying team member on this iteration of The Amazing Race.
One by one the teams made it to the cathedral. Somehow Brook & Claire got gas and managed to find Phil before Michael & Kevin. Kevin should really be a bit less headstrong and listen to his dad sometimes. Had he, I think they would have come in 1st, instead of 3rd.
Nat & Kat were 4th, Chad & Stephanie 5th, Gary & Mallory 6th with Nick & Vicki last.
I like several of the teams this time. I even like Chad & Stephanie. So, I'm good with anyone winning. Except for Thomas & Jill.
The ones I'd most like to see win are Nick & Vicki. They have grown on me, despite the tattoos and piercings, two things I usually have a strong aversion to.
Next week's previews have it appearing they will still be in Russia. With Michael having a hard time with something and Kevin very upset about it.
