Amazing Race Australia host Beau Ryan is a big fan of Canberra - and not just because he made his NRL debut in the national capital or that he reckons he never lost a game here against the Raiders during his rugby league career playing for the Cronulla Sharks and West Tigers.
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"I don't know why you get a bad rap! What are you talking about?" he said.
You know, politics.
"Oh, yeah. No comment," Ryan deadpanned.
The ever-enthusiastic Ryan is thrilled that Canberra will be in the national spotlight next week for the 24th leg of this season of Amazing Race Australia before the finale, fittingly on top of the nation, at Mount Kosciuszko.
"Let's just get real. You can't have Australia without the capital. Don't worry about the politics. It's our capital and will be as long as we're alive, I think," Ryan said.
"A lot of people, especially in Sydney, don't understand how beautiful Canberra and the surrounding parts of Canberra are. "Kosciuszko, Thredbo and all the places near there are just crazy."
The final episode will screen next Sunday, March 28.
During the down-to-the-wire leg in Canberra, the contestants have to ride a fliteboard for 10 seconds on Lake Burley Griffin. (The National Capital Authority says the show producers were issued with a "standard permit" for "filming and assorted activities and included the use of fliteboards" at the lake when the segment was shot, back in mid-November.)
The teams then go to the lawns of Parliament House to assemble two puzzles of the Australian and Aboriginal flags. They then take a helicopter to Thredbo where they perform the final challenges before a race to the finish on Mount Kosciuszko for the $250,000 first prize.
Ryan said the "adrenaline was crazy" in Canberra.
"The last week is crazy because everyone can see the money. They know they're all in with a chance. We've got our best three teams when we're there and they deserve to be there," he said.
And Canberra will always have a special place in Ryan's heart. He made his NRL debut with the West Tigers at Canberra Stadium against the Raiders in 2007. The Tigers won 22-16 and set Ryan up for a career where he never lost an NRL game in the national capital.
"I like watching the Raiders play as well. Even though I did well, I did dread the actual game," he said.
"What they used to do is turn the heart up in the change rooms. And I'd be like, 'This is all right'. But then you run out and you lose your breath. I think it was two degrees one night I played.
"So when you see teams in the first five minutes look like they're walking around on the moon [on Canberra Stadium], it's because they pumped it up to 35 in the sheds."
In fact, Ryan says he would consider a move to Canberra "when house prices come down". Er, don't you live in Sydney? Watch this space.
- Amazing Race Australia airs Sunday-Tuesday at 7.30pm on WIN.
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