The Amazing Race 14 Episode One Recap

Season Fourteen Premiere Sends Teams to Stechelberg, Switzerland

Feb 15, 2009

Eleven teams set out on a race around the world in the season premiere of The Amazing Race. Which team arrived at the pit stop first and who was eliminated?

Winner of six consecutive Emmy awards for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, The Amazing Race returns with its mid-season season premiere. After being dropped from a U.S Marine Corp helicopter, the twenty-two contestants, paired up into eleven teams of two, meet with host Phil Keoghan at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, home to the California National Guard and Army Reserve. With the final words of "Good Luck. Travel Safe" Phil officially sends the contestants on a race around the world with a chance to win the one million dollar prize.

Amazing Race Contestants Travel to Locarno, Switzerland

The race begins with teams racing to their bags to open their first clue informing them that they are flying Los Angeles to Switzerland via one of two connecting flights. Teams must then choose between the 3:35pm Lufthansa flight to Milan or the 4pm Air France flight to Zurich. Five teams (Tammy & Victor, Christie & Jodi, Cara & Jaime, Brad & Victoria and Margie & Luke) opt for the Zurich flight while six teams (Kisha & Jen, Mel & Mike, Amanda & Kris, Preston & Jennifer, Mark & Michael and Linda & Steve) will fly into Milan. Victor & Tammy select the Zurich flight as it departs first, while Mel & Mike believe that Milan will be closer.

Upon arrival, teams travel by train to Locarno where they must sign in at the Church of San Antonio where they will be given a departure time for the next morning between 7:15am and 7:45am. The Lufthansa flight arrives first and all five teams make their way to the train station located within the airport. While onboard, Christie & Jodi follow the lead of a local woman who instructs them to change trains in order to arrive 13 minutes earlier. Their risk pays off and Christie & Jodi are first to sign in, followed by the other Zurich teams.

In Milan, Preston & Jennifer have difficulty locating the train station and must wait as the five others Milan teams depart. Their relationship quickly deteriorates as both find each other "irritating." Despite their delay, it doesn't cost them considerable time, and after receiving the last 7:45am departure they join the other teams at a local campsite for the night.

Roadblock in Ticino, Switzerland - Bungee Jumping From Verzasca Dam

Stuntmen Mark & Michael are first to depart at 7:15 am, along with Tammy & Vic, Margie & Luke and flight attendants Christie and Jodi. Teams are given a picture of Verzasca Dam, a 220m hydroelectric dam where they face a roadblock requiring "nerves of steel" - a 70 story bungee jump. Victor is first to take the plunge off the world's second highest bungee jump overlooking Ticino, Switzerland while Christie & Jodi fall behind looking for a taxi.

Among cries of "Oh my God" stuntman Michael has no trouble, while Luke, Victoria and Mike don't let their trepidations show too severely. Jodi struggles with her fear, stating that bungee jumping was "the one thing I didn't want to do" but eventually keep their chances of finishing alive by stepping off the platform.

Amazing Race Teams Transport Cheese in Interlaken, Switzerland

After completing the roadblock, teams travel by train to Interlaken and search for Kleine Rugen Wiese. Tammy & Victor, Mel & Mike, Margie & Luke and Mark & Michael step onto the first train that arrives on the platform. As other groups arrive, teams realize that one train routes through Italy while another travels through Lucerne. Christie & Jodi choose the 9:39am train which departs first, while Brad & Victoria make a calculated move, tell Christie & Jodi they'll see them on board, and then wait for the 10:50am train which is scheduled to arrive in Interlake earlier.

Once at Kleine Rugen Wiese teams must use wooden antique racks to transport 200 lbs of cheese from an aging shed to a platform at the base of a steep, muddy hill. The racks seem designed to break and soon cheese wheels and contestants are rolling down the slick hillside. Mel decides to hold a wheel in his lap while scooting down the hill on his rear, a technique which is quickly mimicked by Margie & Luke, who are first to complete the task, followed by Tammy & Victor and Mark & Michael.

Yodelers Lead Teams to the First Pitstop in the Swiss Alps

After completing the cheese task, teams receive their final clue instructing them to travel by taxi to Stechelberg where they will follow the sound of yodelers to guide them to the pitstop. Luke relies on his mother to hear the yodelers call, leading Phil to slowly sign "You are Team #1" earning Margie & Luke a 7-night trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Tammy & Victor and Mark & Michael are close behind.

While several more teams arrive at the pitstop, Steve & Linda are busy outsmarting the other contestants still stuck at Kleine Rugen Weise and use the racks as a sled to transport three wheels of cheese simultaneously. This ingenuity earns them valuable time as they later get lost wandering around Stechelberg and arrive ninth.

It's a footrace to the finish as Christie & Jodi arrive tenth and Preston & Jennifer, who struggled to overcome their fighting and bickering but eventually decided to stay together, are the first team to be eliminated.

The copyright of the article The Amazing Race 14 Episode One Recap in Reality TV Episode Summaries is owned by Stephanie Jolly. Permission to republish The Amazing Race 14 Episode One Recap in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.