The Amazing Race nineteenth-season team Marcus Pollard and Amani Pollard ran a strong leg and finished in first place during Sunday night's broadcast of the CBS reality competition.

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The "Married Couple" team arrived at the nineteenth edition's ninth Pit Stop prior to the four additional remaining teams. However, upon their arrival, they learned there would be no mandatory rest period and they would immediately begin the next leg of the around-the-world competition instead.

"As the first team to arrive, you know what that means... you'll be the first team leaving on the next leg of the Race.  And the next leg of the Race starts right now!" The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan told the surprised couple.

"Oh brother!" Amani said.

"No way!" Marcus added.

"Yes!" Phil replied.

The ninth episode of The Amazing Race's nineteenth season began where last week's broadcast left off, with the Race's five teams leaving the course's eighth Pit Stop at Havet Ship, a former cargo ship turned floating hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Since they had been the first team to arrive at the Race's eighth Pit Stop, "Engaged Couple" Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang were the first team to depart at 9:01AM.

They were then followed by "Grandparents" Bill Alden and Cathi Alden at 10:34AM,  "Friends and former Olympic Snowboarders" Andy Finch and Tommy Czeschin at 10:39AM, Marcus and Amani at 11:43AM, and "Dating Couple" Jeremy Cline and Sandy Draghi at 12:08PM

Upon opening their departure clues, the teams were instructed to drive themselves to a nearby statue of Hans Christian Andersen, the 17th century Danish author and fairy tale writer. 

After arriving at the statue, the teams learned one member of each team would have to complete a Roadblock task which required them to memorize a poem by Andersen and then bicycle to a theater and recite the poem verbatim for a drama critic.  Once they had recited it perfectly and with sufficient dramatic flair, they would receive their next clue.

Ernie and Cindy were the first team to arrive at the statue and were followed by Bill and Cathi, Andy and Tommy, Marcus and Amani, and Jeremy and Sandy.  Cindy, Cathi, Tommy, Amani, and Sandy then opted to complete the Roadblock task for their teams.

Cindy and Amani both completed the Roadblock task on their first attempts.  However, Cathi, Tommy and Sandy all required multiple attempts to satisfy the critic -- resulting in Cindy finishing the task first and being followed by Amani, Cathi, Tommy, and Sandy.

After completing the Roadblock, the teams were required to drive themselves to the original Legoland amusement park and then assemble a Lego train station set while repeatedly riding a spinning teacup ride.  Once the Lego structure was assembled, they would be able to read the clue written on the side of the train station.

Ernie and Cindy were the first team to begin attempting to assemble their Lego clue are were followed by Marcus and Amani, Andy and Tommy, Jeremy and Sandy, and Bill and Cathi -- who fell to last place after they lost on their way to the amusement park.

Ernie and Cindy were the first ones to complete the Lego puzzle correctly and learn the teams had to drive themselves across the border to Germany and make their way to the Hamburg train station to find their next clue. Marcus and Amani were second and were followed by Andy and Tommy, Jeremy and Sandy, and Bill and Cathi.

However, all five teams ended up being bunched back together when they arrived at the Hamburg train station and received a clue which instructed them to travel by train to Brussels, Belgium and discovered the next train didn't depart until 12:30AM.

"We're all on the same stupid train to Brussels," Cindy vented.

Ernie and Cindy managed to make the 305-mile train ride successfully despite purchasing but then losing their tickets for the second Cologne-to-Brussels portion of the train trip.

After they arrived in Brussels, the teams had to make their way to the European Parliament Building and locate their next clue, which instructed them to complete a "bodybuilding posedown" in which they had to wear bikinis and Speedos, lather themselves with competition oil, and then learn a series of bodybuilding poses.

Once they learned the poses, they then had to perform them for a trio of judges and earn at least 12 points for their technique and performance in order to receive their next clue.

While all the teams seemed to arrive within moments of each other, Bill and Cathi were the first team to begin the bodybuilding task were followed by Andy and Tommy, Ernie and Cindy, Marcus and Amani, and Jeremy and Sandy.

Marcus and Amani were the first team to complete the bodybuilding task and were followed by Ernie and Cindy and Jeremy and Sandy.

After completing the task, the teams received a clue which instructed them to Parc Elisabeth, a symmetrical park in Brussels that would serve as the site of the Race's ninth Pit Stop.

About The Author: Steven Rogers

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