Eleven teams of two people travel from downtown Los Angeles, California to Valparaiso, Chile, where they battle exhaustion, and have to face their fear of heights in one of the most daunting Road Blocks ever.

The ten remaining teams stay in Chile as they travel from Valparaiso to Puerto Varas. When one person encounters a moody cow at the Road Block, it becomes a recipe for pain.

The eight remaining teams travel from Bariloche, Argentina to Hamburg, Germany. For the first time, two people from different teams have to join forces and work together at the Road Block.

Racers are less than bubbly after sprinting to the wrong Detour location, and one Racer tests the power of duct tape after their car becomes a casualty of the Race.

The six remaining teams travel from Pierry, France to Praslin, Seychelles, where some race with a giant tortoise at the Detour, and one person from each team searches for a message at the bottom of the sea at the Road Block.

Teams find that luck doesn't pick sides in a sweat-drenched test of endurance where they must choose to face a 153-step climb or take a 35-foot-high lesson in Chingay.

Tempers and tensions flare when Racers place a target on one Team's back, and feuds come to a head when a U-turn comes into play.

The four remaining teams travel from Singapore to Shanghai, China. For the first time, teams have to perform two Road Blocks in a single leg, with each person in the team having to do one of the two tasks.

The Final 4 teams struggle with the language barrier in Shanghai while sorting through hundreds of golden Buddhas and thousands of Chinese stamps in their pursuit for a spot in the Final 3.