 A fan favorite team is eliminated as other Racers jostle for position and alliances. A near accident causes one team to refocus as the Racers cross the spectacular Chilean countryside. At Dodger s Stadium, Phil greets the twelve teams of two people and starts the race around the world with a hearty, "The world is waiting for you." The teams in this season are: Reichen and Chip: a gay married couple, Kelly and Jon: engaged, David and Jeff: friends, Jon and Al: circus clowns, Millie and Chuck: dating couple who are virgins, Tian and Jaree: friends, Monica and Sheree: pro-football wives, Steve and Dave: air traffic controllers, Steve and Josh: father and son. Russell and Cindy: friends, Amanda and Chris: dating from South Dakota, Debra and Steve: married. The teams scurry for their cars and race through the streets of Los Angeles to arrive at the airport and fly to Milan, Italy. After landing in Italy, the teams head for the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II to find their next clue. The clue directs the couples to find bus tickets hidden in local shops. Once a team takes a ticket (it has a time on it), they may not exchange it. The buses travel to Cortina d Ampezzo in the middle of the night-starting at 2:00am. In Cortina, the teams take a chairlift to the top of Cinque Torri, and must choose a detour: either search or rescue. In search, teams use a locater beacon to find a signal beneath the snow and use a snowmobile to travel to the next clue. In rescue, teams walk to two of rock towers and cross a rescue bridge made of only four cables and then zip line across a ravine. On the way to the chairlift, Steve (one of the air traffic controllers) injures his knee. Monica and Sheree grab the fast forward by using snowshoes to trek to the top of a field, and make their way to the pit stop at Hotel Lajadira. The teams arrive at the pit stop in the following order: 1. Millie and Chuck (tie), 1. Steve and Josh (tie), 1. Amanda and Chris (tie), 4. Monica and Sheree, 5. Dave and Steve, 6. Kelly and Jon, 7. Jon and Al, 8. Russell and Cindy, 9. Chip and Reichen, 10. David and Jeff, 11. Tian and Jaree, Having run into problems at the "rescue" detour, Debra and Steve are the last to reach the pit stop and are eliminated.