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A Roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform.

A Roadblock is featured (although, in some episodes, not aired) in most legs. Before heading into a Roadblock, teams read a vague clue about the task to come, e.g., "Who's really hungry?" (for an ostrich-egg eating challenge), or "Who wants to get down and dirty?" (for a task involving making mud bricks). Often, a team may figure out the specific task by observing their surroundings, using common sense, or even seeing other teams already performing the Roadblock task. They must then decide which team member would be best suited to complete it (though if one member's height, weight, or age prevent them from safely performing the Roadblock, the other member may be instructed by default to perform the Roadblock). Once a choice has been made, the teammates cannot switch roles. If a team chooses to forfeit a Roadblock, they will incur a 4-hour penalty by default (unless otherwise stated). For the first three seasons of the race, Roadblocks came after a Detour in every leg.

Teammate Participation[]

Unless the clue indicates otherwise, the other teammate(s) may not assist in the task, though they may verbally offer advice and encouragement, usually standing in a designated area off to the side. In a select few Roadblocks, the team member who did not opt to perform the task may be required to participate; for example, in Season 1, one Roadblock required the selected team member to ride a camel, while the other team member was forced to walk along aside it to the next clue box. A similar arrangement occurred in the final Roadblock in Season 10, where while the selected member skydived out of a plane, the other member was treated to a "surprise" nosedive of the plane itself after the start of the skydive. Season 20's first Roadblock was similar, in that the non-participating team member had to skydive out of a plane, while the participating teammate had to use a map to find the landing zone of their partner and reunite with them to receive their next clue. Participating team members from opposing teams are able to help each other, however, unless otherwise indicated by the clue. 

Beginning in Season 27, the non-participating member is forbidden from even verballly giving advice or otherwise aiding their teammate in any form other than by offering encouragement.

The "Six-Roadblock Rule"[]

17x3 Roadblock

Michael & Kevin reading a Roadblock clue in Ghana. (Season 17)

Beginning in Season 6, each team member may complete a maximum of only six Roadblocks throughout the entire race. Since there are normally twelve Roadblocks in the Race, this rule forces each team to split the Roadblocks equally between the two members (unless a team uses a Fast Forward to skip one Roadblock, in which case the split can be 6-5). Many speculate that this rule was enacted because the male member in male-female teams would dominate and perform the majority of the tasks, especially in Season 5 where the final three teams were all male-female teams with Roadblock splits of 11-1 or 10-1. While this Roadblock rule has not been specifically mentioned in some later seasons, team behavior and statements imply that it still applies.

Variations[]

The six-Roadblock limit was dropped for only Season 8 due to the teams being four-person families. Additionally, that season's four-member-team format required some Roadblocks to be completed by two people.

Season 10 had 13 Roadblocks; therefore, the maximum for each team member was increased to seven.

In Season 16, Brent & Caite had a Roadblock split of 7-5, but no penalty was assessed. It is presumed that the rule was amended so that Roadblocks could be split in such a manner as Brook & Claire and Jill & Thomas were also able to do so the following season.

Starting from Season 18, the ability to split Roadblocks 7-5 was removed as it was modified so that team members could not complete more than five (11-12 overall) or six (13-14 overall) Roadblocks prior to the final leg. This rule remained in place through until Season 23.

Seasons 19, 21, 22, and 23 had thirteen or fourteen Roadblocks, with a maximum of seven for each member.

In Season 24, the Roadblock limit rule was changed such that individual racers were limited to performing a maximum of 6 Roadblocks by the end of Leg 10, with the Leg 11 Roadblock not counting against the limit and the Leg 12 Roadblocks being forcibly split. This led to the Season 24 winning team Dave & Connor splitting their Roadblocks 5-8.[1]

In Season 29, each team member could only do a maximum of 4 Roadblocks by the end of Leg 9, leading to a Roadblock split of 4-4, unless a team completed a Fast Forward, in which case, they could have a split of 4-3.

Season 30 had the fewest Roadblocks in a US season, with a total of 9. The exact rule is unknown, but Cody & Jessica split their Roadblocks 6-3, with Cody doing the last three Roadblocks of the season.

In Season 31, Leo & Jamal had a Roadblock split of 7-5.

In Season 33, the Roadblock limit was reset after the resumption of filming following the COVID-19 shutdown, with the two Roadblocks before the shutdown not counting against the limit, and a limit of 5 Roadblocks per member, leading to a split of 5-4 after the shutdown. This allowed Raquel & Cayla to have a Roadblock split of 7-4, since Raquel did both Roadblocks before the shutdown, and they split the Roadblocks after the shutdown 5-4.[2]

In Season 35, individual racers were limited to performing a maximum of 6 Roadblocks by the end of Leg 10, with any team having a 6-4 split at that point being required to have the member who had yet to reach the maximum limit perform both Roadblocks in Leg 11.

Season 36 had 14 Roadblocks, with individual racers limited to performing a maximum of 7 Roadblocks by the end of Leg 10.

Legs with Multiple Roadblocks[]

Season 16 introduced a twist in which multiple Roadblocks were encountered in a single-length leg. The team member that did not perform the first Roadblock was required to perform the second Roadblock.

Teams are not normally informed that they will encounter multiple Roadblocks in a leg, though one leg in Season 33 saw teams being warned at the start of the leg that there would be multiple Roadblocks, allowing for a level of strategy.

Beginning with Season 35 (Season 36 by film date), teams were no longer required to have both members perform one Roadblock each in legs with multiple Roadblocks, with one team member now being allowed to perform both Roadblocks in a single leg.

References[]

Clues & Other Route Markers

Clue-routemarker · Clue-Detour · Clue-FastForward · Clue-Roadblock · Clue-information · Clue-Face-Off · Icon-Intersection · Clue-SpeedBump · Clue-Yield · Clue-Uturn · Icon-Hazard
Others: Handicap · One Way · Date Night · Switchback · On Ramp· Pass

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