Michelle & Jo

They may be bubbly, blonde cheerleaders, but these identical twins from Sydney are out to prove there’s more to them than meets the eye.

Michelle and Jo not only look alike, they also drive the same type of car, work in the same job as ground staff for an airline and more often than not finish each other’s sentences.

“We’ve got the travel side of things sorted through our knowledge from work,” says Michelle.

Jo adds, “Plus we’re fit from the dancing. We’re competitive. We’ve competed in surf lifesaving championships.”

“We communicate well. We know what the other one’s thinking. We’re in with a really strong chance.”

The girls are cheerleaders for the St George Illawarra Dragons NRL team and Jo’s proudest achievement is winning the 2011 Cheer Girl of the Year.

Even though the twins recently didn’t speak to each other for nearly two years - Michelle didn’t approve of Jo’s boyfriend at the time - they have now reconciled and are mostly looking forward to being with each other 24/7 on the race.

“But I’m hoping there’ll be no major blow ups otherwise we’ll be in trouble!” says Michelle.

For girls whose ideal overseas trip involves “the beach and sunbaking”, how do they think they’ll cope with the challenges?

“We’re good with puzzles and we think we’ve got common sense,” says Michelle. “And when it comes to strength I’m sure we can push ourselves.”