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Leg 24.11 – “The balloons are waiting for us.”
During the Pit Stop, teams will depart the Isle of Man and drive themselves back to Liverpool where they will begin the next Leg at St. George’s Hall.
The first clue tells teams to make their way on foot to the Liverpool One Bus Station to catch a bus back to London. And from London, teams must figure out how to take the Eurostar to Paris, France!
Teams will be racing through Paris months before the 2024 Summer Olympics!
Upon arrival at Paris Gare du Nord, teams must search outside the station for the cluebox. That clue will reveal a Road Block Decision Point! Who’s a fast waiter? Or Who’s a good waiter?
After deciding on which team member will complete each Road Block, teams must now head to Square D’Anvers where they will face the first of those Road Blocks.
The Waiters Race is a traditional French event where participants, typically waiters and waitresses, race through a course while balancing a tray with drinks and food. After a long hiatus, the race returned for the first time this year.
For this Road Block, teams will have their own race against the clock. While holding a tray with a croissant, coffee and glass of water, teams must make their way from Square d’Anvers, pass by Carrousel de Saint-Pierre and up to Basilique du Sacre-Coeur du Montmartre within 10 minutes and without spilling anything. If they can, they will receive the next clue.
Their teammate will take the funicular up to the basilica to meet them.
After reuniting, teams must make their way to Place Saint-Fargeau.
The Red Balloon is a beloved French film originally released in 1956, telling the story of a young boy who forms an unlikely friendship with a red balloon that appears in his life. It is set in the Menilmontant neighborhood. And for this task, teams will get to make their own new red balloon friend and accompany it through the neighborhood.
Teams will first tie a red balloon to a drone. They must then navigate the drone with the balloon through the neighborhood, hitting several checkpoints starting at Place Saint-Fargeau, then walking down the Rue des Cascades to Place Maurice Chevalier. Here, teams must navigate the drone in a figure eight pattern before continuing down Rue Piat and making their way to Parc de Belleville where they must land the drone in a designated spot and have the balloon join its other waiting balloon friends to receive the next clue.
Teams must now search the nearby area for waiting 2024 Kia Niro Hybrids and drive themselves more than 64 kilometers to Chateau de Fleury-en-Biere. And here, teams will encounter the Detour: Forest Marks or Fine Arts.
In Forest Marks, teams must head to Henson Equestrian Centre. Both team members will ride a horse into the forest to find several targets which they must hit using a bow and arrow.
The Musee Departemental des Peintres de Barbizon is a museum is dedicated to the Barbizon School of painting, known for its focus on plein air painting which involves the act of painting outdoors. In Fine Arts, teams must choose a painting from the museum. They will then head out into Barbizon village and search for what the painting is of. When they can take a photo of it and the painting and show it to the museum curator, they will receive next clue.
After the Detour, teams must head to the Chateau de Fontainebleau where they will find the second Road Block: Who’s a good waiter?
For this Road Block, both team members must dress in traditional royal server attire. Teams must properly set a table for a royal banquet, including the multiple silverware for different courses as well as intricate napkin folding and other decorative elements on the table according to an example. When approved, teams will receive the next clue.
And that clue directs teams to search the grounds of the palace for the Pit Stop!
The first team to check-in here will win P200,000 courtesy of Shell V-Power Nitro+.
The last team to check-in WILL be eliminated.
“Director’s” Commentary
I am really excited about this Leg! It’s been one that’s been on reserve for many, many years for me. And finally I have a great spot for it here! With our season hypothetically being filmed around March to May 2024, I thought it would be extra interesting to have teams Racing around Paris while it was preparing for the Olympics!
So let’s go through it by starting with the train from London to Paris. Again, it’s all logistics. Having teams drive themselves back to Liverpool and starting the Leg there. But really all teams will end up on the same bus to London and then the same train to Paris. No worries there.
Upon arrival in Paris, another Road Block Decision Point should help add a bit of drama here. With some teams using their Interchange last Leg, they might have wished they had it here hehe And as this is the 12th Road Block of the Race, teams could be forced to do the first task.
First off, the Waiters Race is something I read about even before COVID. So I thought it would be a great task to have on TAR. Perfect timing this year because it was the first time they held the Race again after a long time. So having teams do it here and really walk the streets of Paris would be a fun and chaotic task. Better if more teams were Racing on this Leg. But still good here.
Next, I remember watching The Red Balloon and loving the warm film. I knew I wanted to have a task relating to the film somehow. And a few years ago, especially with drones becoming more and more ubiquitous in the world, I thought why not have teams make their own Red Balloon friend! Maneuvering the drone while having to find their way through their quiet Paris neighborhood should be a really fun and interesting task. And a different experience from the more touristy activities of Paris as well. Really fun, especially when teams meet the group of Red Balloon friends at the end! Hehehe
Afterwards, I wasn’t sure if I wanted teams to stay in Paris until the Pit Stop. And there’s certainly enough to finish out the Leg here. But I decided to have teams drive out of the city to Fontainebleau. Another stunning location.
First, the Detour in Fleury-en-Biere is a nice, countryside pair of tasks. Simple, straightforward, but a nice contrast to the bustling city half of the Leg.
Then the second Road Block is a familiar TAR task. But perfect to stage here at Chateau de Fontainebleau. Having it at the end of the Leg should make for some fun tension and nail-biting moments. Also perfect to match with having the Mat here on the grounds after dark as well!
Overall, I really like this Leg! I certainly would have liked to have more teams on it. But still, this could be a fun and exciting Leg with some stunning locations!