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Canadians are heading out for the second season of " The Amazing Race Canada," and the stakes are high. Not only for CTV, which is bringing back the ratings juggernaut, but for the actual show itself. Can "Amazing Race Canada" strike reality gold two years in a row?

Looking at its distant cousin over on Slice on Global, " Big Brother Canada" killed it in its sophomore season, bringing in more viewers and online traffic than ever before. In a way, that puts even more pressure on "ARC." Can a country that traditionally shrugs its shoulders at homegrown reality shows possibly maintain interest over the long term?

(Full disclosure: I've seen the first episode of Season 2, but don't worry, no major spoilers here.) The premiere episode of "Amazing Race Canada" Season 2 has set the bar high -- tasks and stunts (Roadblocks and Detours) are arduous, extreme and exciting. There may even be some puking within the first half-hour! Now that's entertainment.

But in all seriousness, the quality is there, and we see host Jon Montgomery hamming it up like he always has, which is always welcome. A pleasant surprise is the teams aren't quite what you expect. Going in, I expected the mother-son pairing of Cormac and Nicole to be a snorefest (a.k.a. Margie and Luke in the U.S. version of "Amazing Race"), but Nicole has a hard edge and sass I didn't anticipate. As a result, they're fun to watch.

On the flip side, the "hippies" team is usually one to watch; sorry to abide by the stereotypes, but they're often carefree, relaxed and upbeat. This time around, the team of Mickey and Pete seems devoid of that tree-hugging charisma. This could just be me, or it could be that I've only seen one episode. I didn't come out of the premiere with a favourite team, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

Luckily, the "Amazing Race Canada" Season 2 premiere makes up for the slightly lacklustre teams with outstanding obstacles. I won't reveal them here, but they're big. Huge, even. You thought jumping off a trestle was a big deal in Episode 1 of Season 1? Just wait for this.

Even the prizes are bigger this year. Gas for life from Petro-Canada? That's enough right there, but also tack on $250,000 cash, business-class Air Canada travel anywhere the airline flies for one year, plus two Chevy Silverados and any other prizes the teams win on each leg of the race.

So who's going to take it all? Here are my shot-in-the-dark, totally unreliable, based-on-one-episode predictions:

"Amazing Race Canada" Season 2 premieres on Tuesday, July 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Follow Chris Jancelewicz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CJancelewicz

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/chris-jancelewicz/amazing-race-canada-...