‘The Amazing Race’ Recap: A Powerhouse Team Is Taken Out by a U-Turn

Alyssa Norwin November 11, 2026, 11:00 pm

Seven teams remain in Season 39 of The Amazing Race. To kick off the November 11 episode, they traveled from Sri Lanka to Laos, where they were hit with their next set of tasks.

Leg 8 featured another Double U-Turn, which was quite unexpected since the last leg just had one. However, this time, only the two teams who arrived at the U-Turn first had a say in which other teams would have to complete both sides of the Detour, whereas last leg was a majority vote among the entire group.

What was the Detour in Episode 8?

The Leg 8 Detour had the teams choosing between the tasks “Something to Taste” and “Nothing to Waste.” Andrea Tager Ballesca and Anuar Ballesca, as well as Matt Patterson and Michelle Patterson, were the only two pairs to choose the former, which required teams to shop for 11 ingredients in a market and cook laab, the unofficial dish of Laos.

The other five teams (Ann-Marie Tejcek and Riley Tejeck, Conner Wilson and Garrett McGuire, Daisha Wilks and Dalton Hamby, Ali Krieger and Joanna Lohman, and Erin Taylor and Javi Vintimilla) chose “Nothing to Waste,” and had to transfer 15 crates of empty beer bottles, then properly stack 75 crates on the back of a truck.

Michelle and Matt ended up getting lost when they couldn’t find the market, so they switched tasks, although all of the other teams were already hard at work by that point.

Who got U-Turned in Episode 8?

Conner and Garrett finished the Detour first, but due to their navigation issues, it was Javi/Erin and Ann-Marie/Riley who arrived to the Double U-Turn in the lead. Javi and Erin U-Turned Michelle and Matt, the strongest team left in the race, while Ann-Marie and Riley went for Daisha/Dalton, which means the same teams were U-Turned on back-to-back legs.

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A frustrated Daisha and Dalton turned around to do the “taste” Detour. Andrea/Anuar were still there and gave them some tips, with hopes that it would put Michelle and Matt even further behind. The husband/wife duo already had trouble finding the market early on, but finally got back on track, and went into the cooking portion of the task confidently.

What was the Route Info Task in Episode 8?

Next, the groups were met with a Route Info Task, which required them to learn Muay Lao, the traditional form of kickboxing in Laos. They had to perfect a choreographed fight sequence and correctly perform it to get their next clue.

Erin and Javi passed on their first attempt, while Ann-Marie/Riley, Connor/Garrett, and Ali/Joanna also got out of the kickboxing challenge fairly quickly. Anuar and Andrea struggled, but still completed the task before Matt and Michelle even arrived. Daisha and Dalton then finished quickly and were leaving as Matt and Michelle walked in the door.

What was the Roadblock in Episode 8?

For the Roadblock, one member of each team had to count all the buddhas in the back room of a temple (there were 582 total). Javi and Riley arrived at the Roadblock first and agreed to work together on the counting task.

Riley guessed first correctly and told Javi she’d tell him the right number if he would let her and her mom hit the Pit Stop mat first, which Javi agreed to. Meanwhile, Conner, Andrea, and Joanna also decided to work together on the counting.

When Daisha arrived, she tried to work with the other teams, but nobody was committing to helping her at first. Eventually, the other three teams agreed to pull Daisha in, with the hopes of everyone finishing before Michelle and Matt.

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The four teams finished before Matt and Michelle arrived at the Roadblock, and then the race began for the Pit Stop.

Who was eliminated in Episode 8?

The team who was eliminated on Leg 8 of the race was Michelle and Matt. Michelle was still completing the Roadblock (she got it on her third attempt) while the other teams celebrated at the Pit Stop.

The other teams arrived at the Pit Stop in the following order: Ann-Marie/Riley, Erin/Javi, Conner/Garrett, Daisha/Dalton, Ali/Joanna, and Andrea/Anuar.