‘The Amazing Race’ winners Ricky and Cesar explain how windsurfing almost derailed their perfect season
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Season 36 of “The Amazing Race” came to an unsurprising end on Wednesday night when boyfriends Ricky Rotandi and Cesar Aldrete took home the $1 million grand prize. The dominant 34-year-olds won a total of seven legs throughout the race, never finishing worse than second place until Ricky’s windsurfing nightmare halfway through the season finale.
“It really was surreal,” Ricky says about meeting host Phil Keoghan at the mat for the last time. Cesar adds, “As a superfan, just having the chance to be in the race. Going through the casting process, being told yes and then getting ready. Giving assigned our color, that for me was really special. We get there, we get our handkerchiefs, we get our fanny packs! Everything was very special.”
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So, about that windsurfing Roadblock in the penultimate leg. “It was a really stressful, scary moment,” Ricky recalls. “I knew I had to pull it out and I wanted to keep pushing through. There was one moment I got really frustrated with myself and then I was like, no, just do it, keep getting back up and I had to just keep going. I was battling a current and the longer you stay out there the more you get exhausted. It was a very stressful moment.”
The stars aligned for these two even more when Phil announced the race would conclude in Ricky’s hometown of Philadelphia. “I freaked out,” says Ricky. But Cesar maintains it isn’t always an advantage. “As a superfan now I realize that when a team is racing in their hometown there is a high chance that they don’t win. It’s a curse maybe. It’s rare that a team wins in their hometown.”
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