General question about this year's Amazing Race re: bunching

[Mike Daniels]

Where no matter how poorly teams raced during the general leg they all end up grouped together with the other teams at a destination thereby having any competitive lead eliminated. This usually occurs because the teams arrive at a destination in the evening and the destination remains closed until the morning.

This is only the second year I watched it and perhaps I didn't notice it that much last year but has it always been like this since the beginning of Series #1?

If bunching didn't exist to this extent in prior season did it get to the point where teams had such a lead throughout the race that it became uncompetitive?

Just wondering what prior seasons were like on that situation.

[Misunderestimator]

1. It's always been like that.... nice for someone who has car trouble

or some unavoidable delay like that... but it does suck that the race always ties up in the middle like that.

[NWHarkness]

2. Some bunching makes sense, but not this much

I think there is much too much bunching this season.

Some bunching is needed, at one point in a previous season (3?) one team was almost a full day ahead of the pack. But there have been too mnay last to first leaps this season. Although, that may reflect a more even field of competitors. It seems to me that the weakest teams this year were stronger than the weakest in past seasons.