"Luck is an understatement" — The Amazing Race star Ana opens up about making pizza in the Italy leg
The Amazing Race season 37 alum Ana Towns, in a recent video on her and her partner, Jonathan's YouTube channel, called The Road Less Traveled, opened up about the pizza-making roadblock in episode 9 of the CBS series. In the video, posted on May 7, 2025, the couple reflected on their experience in Italy, and Ana discussed why she finished the pizza-making task without any difficulty.
"You don't understand. Luck is an understatement. Like, we were just like, 'This is incredible,' because nowhere in my application did I write down that I used to work at Domino's. Nobody knows that I know how to make pizza," Ana explained.
Week 9 of The Amazing Race, which aired on April 30, 2025, saw the contestants racing in Italy, where in the final roadblock, they had to make a pizza from scratch and earn the chef's approval to move on to the next stage of the competition. While many struggled to impress the chef, Ana passed the test on her first attempt.
In the YouTube video, she revealed that she could pace through it only because she was familiar with the process of making a pizza. Jonathan added that the task was "in her wheelhouse." It eventually helped the pair gain a significant lead on their competitors and finish the leg in first place.
"I just think it was magical" — The Amazing Race fame Ana comments on the pizza-making roadblock
The Amazing Race episode saw the teams struggling to complete the pizza roadblock. Carson, in particular, almost jeopardized his team's chances of staying in the competition by repeatedly failing to gain the chef's approval. However, that was not the case for Ana, who revealed that she used to work at Domino's, which helped her ace the challenge.
While reflecting on the episode, Jonathan confessed that they "lucked out" in the Italy leg because, first, as a guitarist himself, he could swiftly complete the mandolin challenge, in which he had to assemble the parts of the instrument, and second, Ana had the advantage in the pizza roadblock since she had prior work experience in the same field.
The Amazing Race star clarified that the producers were completely unaware of her work experience and that the challenge was not designed to favor her. At that point, Ana chimed in, saying the producers also did not know that Jonathan was a guitarist.
"It wasn't until after the episode-- after we got home, that one of the producers, like, 'Hey, do you have any pictures of you playing guitar?'" she added.
Jonathan reiterated that production could not know the things not mentioned on their application form, and Ana added that it was "wild" how everything in the Italy leg played in their favor.
"I just think it was magical," Ana remarked.
The Amazing Race alum then revealed she was late to the demo, the presentation that showed the contestants how to make the pizza. By the time she had reached the pizzeria, the chef had already put the pizza in the oven while she was reading the additional information.
Regardless, she remained hopeful and decided to "go for it," relying on her past experience.
"It's one of those things that's-- It's like riding a bike, like, you just don't forget," she said.
Ana stated that although she had to look at the toppings used a few times, nothing seemed odd except for the method used to turn the pizzas inside the oven. However, Ana mentioned that she gave it her best attempt, ensuring every part of the pizza was cooked, not burnt.
Jonathan then chimed in, recalling the "long run" to the Pit Stop with the pizza, pointing out that it was a difficult run because everyone was tired by then. Ana admitted she was "groaning, moaning" trying to finish the leg. However, they completed the race by reaching the Pit Stop first.
The Amazing Race season 37 episodes are available to stream on CBS.
