The Amazing Race is taking on a whole new challenge among its teams on season 26 by setting up five of them on blind dates at the starting line-something that is making one of those who signed up even more nervous.

In a pre-race interview clip for the show, Kurt Belcher, who was set up with new teammate Bergen Olson on the race and didn't meet him until the starting line, admits that meeting his blind date is more nerve-wracking to him than racing around the world for $1million.

"My thoughts on this whole thing, mentally, I'm more nervous about meeting this guy than I am about doing the show and racing and traveling around the world," he says in the clip. "I'm nervous about that too but I'm excited...but I'm thinking to myself 'Oh my gosh, what if this guy and I meet at the starting line and we just don't hit it off? What if he doesn't like me but I like him, how embarrassing.'"

"But the other thought in my mind, I was like, 'what if, you know, it's love at first site?'" he added. "And for that, if we can get through the race together, we can probably get through anything together."

As for his racing strategy, Belcher warns that the other people on the race shouldn't try to underestimate him because he's gay.

"I am very easy to get along with, the liabilities for the show is, I will be sweet as pie to you, unless I feel the need to manipulate you to get what I want," he says. "But I think a lot of people want to underestimate the gay guy, but you don't want to do that because I have the testosterone of a man with the wrath of a woman."

The Amazing Race season 26 premieres on Weds. Feb. 26 at 9:30 p.m. on CBS.

Tags
The Amazing Race, CBS, Reality TV