‘The Amazing Race 34’: Derek and Claire Reveal Which Team Is Their Biggest Threat
Only a few episodes remain in The Amazing Race 34, and Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss are feeling the pressure. They have been one of the more consistent teams throughout the season, but they face some stiff competition. The other pairs have proved to be strong contenders, and it’s anyone’s race to lose at this point in the season.
Only five teams, including Derek and Claire, remain in ‘The Amazing Race 34’
Following Quinton Peron and Mattie Lynch’s elimination in The Amazing Race 34 Episode 8, only five teams are left racing for the $1 million grand prize. They are:
- Derek and Claire
- Aubrey Ares and David Hernandez
- Emily Bushnell and Molly Sinert
- Luis Colon and Michelle Burgos
- Marcus and Michael Craig
Derek and Claire, Luis and Michelle, and Marcus and Michael each have two first-place finishes in the race. Meanwhile, Emily and Molly have one, and Aubrey and David have zero. The highest placement Aubrey and David have gotten is second.
Nevertheless, anything can happen during a leg. So as far as we’re concerned, any of the final five teams could win. But Derek and Claire know which team is their biggest competition going into the eighth leg of The Amazing Race 34.
The ‘Big Brother’ couple identifies their biggest threat
Derek and Claire film episode recaps of The Amazing Race 34 and share them on their YouTube page. In the video for episode 8, the couple revealed which team they believed was their biggest threat going into the eighth leg.
“Marcus and Michael,” Derek said. “One hundred percent. They’re a great team. They don’t make any catastrophic mistakes. And the thing is, on the race, there is no way to take another team out. So you basically have to either do better than them, which … OK, this is the thing. The only times we’ve beaten Michael and Marcus is when they’ve made a mistake.”
He continued, “I’d be curious, like, us at our best, them at their best; honestly, I think they could beat us.” And Claire agreed, “Oh, yeah. Easy!”
“It comes down to waiting for other teams to make a mistake,” Derek explained. “That’s all that you have now. So I think they were the most threatening because they had the least variance.”
So before The Amazing Race 34 Episode 9, Derek and Claire thought Michael and Marcus were their biggest threats.
Derek and Claire tease ‘The Amazing Race 34’ Episode 9
At the end of their YouTube video, Derek and Claire each shared one word to describe The Amazing Race 34 Episode 9.
“My one word for the next leg is … pedaled,” Derek said. Meanwhile, Claire teased that her word — which was technically two words — is “Big Brother.”
Derek looked a bit confused at Claire’s choice and said, “Interesting.” But we’ll just have to wait to understand why Claire describes the eighth leg as “Big Brother.”
The synopsis for episode 9 reads, “Teams embark on a megaleg in Malaga, Spain, where racers become grill masters and brave rough waters.”
The Amazing Race 34 Episode 9 airs Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
