The Amazing Race 10, Episode 11 First Class and Cargo Class Awards: Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is…

It was another non-elimination leg on The Amazing Race this week. The first and third place teams remained the same, but the even-numbered finishers flipped places. Judging from the volume in her e-mail inbox, you’ve all read Jenn’s always-thorough recap, so let’s move on to the awards, shall we?

It was around this time last season that I had trouble handing out the awards. No one team performed really well for the entire leg, and no one team performed really poorly for the entire leg. What to do, what to do? I decided to do exactly what I did last season, and seat all of the remaining teams in Coach Class, while pointing out their First Class and Cargo Class moments from the leg.

Let’s start with each remaining team’s First Class moments.

James & Tyler (aka Team Zoolander): The models raced another solid leg, finishing in first yet again. They performed well on the whole leg, but I feel their First Class moment came at the very end, when they were approaching Phil on the mat. Their first clue of the leg stated that they were to bring their good-luck charm to the Pit Stop with them. While running to the mat, Zoolander realized that they had left their charm in the car, and immediately returned to retrieve it.

Because Lyn & Karlyn were so slow, the models had time to return to their car, retrieve the charm, and make it to the mat in first place. Had they continued all the way to the mat without the charm, it’s possible that Karlyn & Lyn could have passed them, or even worse, that Phil would have imposed some kind of time penalty on them. So Tyler & James made the smart choice, and suffered no ill effects from their choice.

Lyn & Karlyn (aka Team Dublyn): In last week’s article, I criticized the moms for failing to obtain a map while they were in the Helsinki airport, since they knew where they would be going. Their failure to have their own map required them to follow the clueless Cho brothers for most of that leg, and causing a lot of stress and frustration.

This time, Dublyn very wisely obtained a map while they were in Paris, and used their layover time to study the map and learn their way around Ourzazate. This was their First Class moment. Having their own map—and knowing how to use it—enabled Dublyn to avoid the navigational problems that befell other teams. Avoiding those problems allowed them to overcome the time spent waiting for the Yield to expire. Great job, Karlyn & Lyn, it’s about time you showed some smart race strategy!

Rob & Kimberly: The dating couple has been racing very well ever since they (read: Rob) learned that sometimes it’s best not to fight, that sometimes there are just things you can’t control, and getting worked up over them doesn’t solve anything. They’ve never been in serious danger of Philimination and as annoying as they have been at times, they’re a solid team.

Kimberly & Rob’s First Class moment was actually a series of navigational decisions they made. Although they stated they want Dustin & Kandice gone, they took advantage of a few opportunities to follow them (and whoever was guiding them at the moment). Then, when the couple realized that the blondes were getting nowhere fast, they wasted no time making the decision to break away from them, joining up with Zoolander and arriving at the antique shop ahead of the beauty queens. Very wise decisions every time.

Dustin & Kandice: The blonde beauty queens had some problems on this leg. But without a doubt their First Class moment came when they used the Yield on Dublyn. The Yield is an established part of the race. Contrary to what many teams have stated, it’s not dirty game play to use the Yield.

Did Kandice & Dustin absolutely need to use the Yield on Dublyn? Probably not. But there was no other team they could Yield, and they didn’t know what the next task would entail. It was entirely possible based on what they knew at that moment that the Yield would put Dublyn hopelessly behind the other teams. Do I think it was strictly a race decision? No, I’m sure there was a personal element to their decision. But that doesn’t change the fact that it was a smart decision—and good race strategy.

Now for the Cargo Class moments.

James & Tyler: Zoolander’s Cargo Class moment came when they arrived at the Yield and decided not to use it. At that moment, the models had no idea how things would play out for the rest of the leg. They arrived first and had two strong teams to choose from. The smart thing to do from a strategic standpoint would have been to Yield Rob & Kimberly or Dustin & Kandice.

I understand why Zoolander chose not to use the Yield, but I still believe they would have been smarter to use it. If they had an agreement with Kimberly & Rob, then they should have Yielded Kandice & Dustin, who have been racing very well throughout the race. They even stated at the start of the leg that their ideal final three would not include the beauty queens, and they gave up their chance to help that happen. In the end it didn’t matter, but the models raced so well for the rest of the leg, this was the only area where they could have made a smarter choice.