Valerie Macon/Getty ImagesIt's a good thing The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business contestants don't have to compete against their host, Phil Keoghan. Even though they've all raced before, he would surely beat them all and win the million-dollar prize himself. Why? Because he's a badass. Phil just rode across America to raise money for MS—his bicycle journey from Los Angeles to New York City is documented in a new feature film, The Ride. Phil took time out of his movie premiere tour to dish on this season's familiar faces, what new challenges we can expect, and who he'd pick as his partner if he were competing in The Amazing Race:
Q&A with The Amazing Race Phil Keogan
Congratulations on your successful ride across America, and the new film!
Well, thank you! It's been a real adventure up to this point.
Now that you have ridden your bike across a continent enduring all kinds of weather and a nasty crash, are you more critical of the racers who whine or give up?
There have been occasions on the race where I have been frustrated with teams that, I feel, have lacked a real go-get-'em attitude and are a little soft sometimes. There have been times on TAR where I have absolutely been frustrated with some of them, and I told them so. I've said getting on this race and having the opportunity to be on this race is a privilege and don't waste it. The Unfinished Business teams are a different lot. They're hungrier than any teams we have already had collectively, because they are all coming back to prove something.
This new season has brought some very feisty, competitive people who are a little bitter about what happened the last time out and have something to prove. How did you select which teams would return this season?
We decided that we would let teams come back for a second chance who had unfinished business—like teams that took a bad pee break, were U-turned, made bad decisions, had mental breakdowns in challenges. Teams that came very, very close but didn't quite make it. [Unfinished Business] gives them a chance to redeem themselves.
Who is the villain this season?
Ah-ha! Well, who would you think it would be looking at the lineup? Well, there was a lot of conflict between Luke and the other girls.... Margie and Luke had a bit of an issue with Kisha and Jen [the "potty stoppers"] in China. Jamie and Cara are a team that take no prisoners—they're a pretty strong, robust team. Kent and Vyxsin are also no pushovers. They're pretty sneaky! I assure you that there is tension and a little bit of jostling for power. I think I can leave it to your judgment as to who those teams are. There's always going to be tension, and I will leave it to you to whether to classify if the behavior is villainous. There's certainly lots of tension.
Who has changed the most since they first played?
Ron was probably the one going through the biggest transformation, when he played with [his daughter] Christina—their relationship really did have quite an arc change—there was quite a transformation that took place. The question is will he revert back to his old ways or has he genuinely changed—changed for the good?
Who has inspired you the most?
The Globetrotters [Herb "Flight Time" Lang & Nate "Big Easy" Lofton] are the team that I would probably say of everybody there is the most inspirational. There are so many teams that have great energy, [but] the Globetrotters are sharing a lot of positive energy with their performance, with their work with the Harlem Globetrotters. I know they have inspired a lot of young people because I saw it during their shows. People are also inspired by Luke and his ability to take on this challenge as a deaf person. I also think you have to look at Mike [White] and his father, Mel, a 70-year-old guy going out and racing. You got to look at Zev and Justin—what I love about Zev is he says it like it is. There's no filter, and that's what I love about him.
Any new twists, like the express pass offered in the first leg of last season?
I'll just say this: Right out of the gate, they are tested to the max. They're definitely caught off-guard right from the beginning. There are teams that are coming right back, and we want to make sure that they don't take anything for granted, and that they make sure to know how everything works. Our idea was to really shock them right at the starting line, and I think we did that effectively. There are a couple of changes to the way things work. I think you'll be entertained by it all. What I can reveal is they have to get straight on a flight to Sydney. What you will see will be a lot of interesting dynamics because all of these teams know of each other. We are going to Sydney and Tokyo. There is a very spiritual ritual that takes place in Japan that is quite outrageous—really, two challenges there that are quite outrageous. One in particular that has chilling consequences, we'll just say it that way.
Are there any of the dreaded eating challenges this season?
Off the top of my head, I can't remember an eating challenge.
If you were doing the race, who would you pick as your partner?
I would say my dad. He's very smart, he's fit. We get along very well, and it would be fun to hang out with him.
The Amazing Race premieres Sunday, Feb. 20 on CBS. Excited for the return of TAR? Tell us in the comments!