CBS ANNOUNCES THE MOST COMPETITIVE GROUP OF RACERS EVER TO COMPETE ON THE MILESTONE 30TH SEASON OF "THE AMAZING RACE," PREMIERING JAN. 3, 2018!

Racers Include an Indy 500 Winner, Retired NBA All-Stars, X-Game Champions, a World Champion Competitive Eater, Nationally Ranked Debaters, Season 19 "Big Brother" Houseguests and More

CBS' multi-Emmy-Award-winning reality series THE AMAZING RACE returns on Wednesday, Jan. 3 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) for its milestone 30th season. More than 600 Racers have traveled over one million miles in 29 seasons, but for the 30th Race around the world, this edition boasts some of the most competitive and accomplished teams to ever take on the Race. Teams include IndyCar drivers Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly; retired NBA All-Stars Cedric Ceballos and Shawn Marion; X-Games champions Kristi Leskinen and Jen Hudak; nationally ranked debaters Henry Zhang and Evan Lynyak; BIG BROTHER power couple Cody Nickson and Jessica Graf; competitive eaters Joey Chestnut and Tim Janus, among others.

Teams begin their adventure in Washington Square Park in New York City and immediately travel to their first destination, Iceland, where they must traverse a massive canyon high above the Geitargljufur River. Along the Race, teams will travel to 10 countries, 21 cities and over 29,000 miles in the quest to cross the finish line of THE AMAZING RACE first and win the one million dollar prize. Phil Keoghan is the host.

Following are the 11 teams, listed in no particular order:

CEDRIC AND SHAWN #TeamSlamDunk

Name: Cedric Ceballos
Age: 48
Current occupation: Retired NBA Player
Qualifications: Former NBA All-Star and Slamdunk Champion
Instagram: @cedceballos

Name: Shawn Marion
Age: 39
Hometown: Chicago
Connection to teammate: Retired NBA Player
Qualifications: 4-time NBA All-Star and NBA Champion 2011
Instagram: @matrix31
Twitter: @matrix31

APRIL AND SARAH #TeamGoatYoga

Name: April Gould
Age: 39
Hometown: Gilbert, Ariz.
Connection to teammate: Friends
Qualifications: Goat Yoga Instructor
Instagram: @AprilGouldNinja
Twitter: @AprilGouldNinja and @GoatYoga

Name: Sarah Williams
Age: 39
Hometown: Mesa, Ariz.
Connection to teammate: Friends
Qualifications: Goat Yoga Instructor
Instagram: @desertpaddleboards
Twitter: @GoatYoga

CODY AND JESSICA #TeamBigBrother

Name: Cody Nickson
Age: 32
Hometown: Plano, Texas
Connection to teammate: Dating
Qualifications: "Big Brother 19" Power Couple
Instagram: @codythemarine
Twitter: @codythemarine

Name: Jessica Graf
Age: 26
Hometown: Los Angeles
Connection to teammate: Dating
Qualifications: "Big Brother 19" Power Couple
Instagram: @thejessicagraf
Twitter: @thejessicagraf

HENRY AND EVAN #TeamYale

Name: Henry Zhang
Age: 22
Hometown: Los Angeles
Connection to teammate: Dating
Qualifications: Former president of the Yale debate team
Instagram: @HenryTZhang
Twitter: @HenryTZhang

Name: Evan Lynyak
Age: 22
Hometown: Los Angeles
Connection to teammate: Dating
Qualifications: Top-ranking female debater in the world in 2016
Instagram: @evan.lynyak

TREVOR AND CHRIS #TeamWellStrung

Name: Trevor Wadleigh
Age: 30
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Connection to teammate: Dating
Qualifications: Billboard chart-topping musician in the string quartet "Well Strung"
Instagram: @tdwadleigh

Name: Chris Marchant
Age: 33
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Connection to teammate: Dating
Qualifications: Billboard chart-topping musician in the string quartet "Well Strung"
Instagram: @chrisjmarchant
Twitter: @chrisjmarchant

ALEX AND CONOR #TeamIndyCar

Name: Alexander Rossi
Age: 26
Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.
Connection to teammate: IndyCar drivers and friends
Qualifications: Indianapolis 500 winner 2016
Instagram: @alexanderrossi
Twitter: @AlexanderRossi

Name: Conor Daly
Age: 25 (26 on 12/15/17)
Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.
Connection to teammate: IndyCar drivers and friends
Qualifications: Placed 2nd in the Detroit Grand Prix
Instagram: @conordaly22
Twitter: @conordaly22

DESSIE AND KAYLA #TheRingGirls

Name: Dessie Mitcheson
Age: 27
Hometown: Apollo, Pa.
Connection to teammate: Friends
Qualifications: Ring girl and Instagram model
Instagram: @dessiemitcheson

Name: Kayla Fitzgerald
Age: 26
Hometown: Clermont, Fla.
Connection to teammate: Friends
Qualifications: Ring girl and Instagram model
Instagram: @kaylafitz3

JOEY AND TIM #TeamChomp

Name: Joey Chestnut
Age: 33
Hometown: San Jose, Calif.
Connection to teammate: Friends
Qualifications: World champion competitive eater
Instagram: @joey.chestnut
Twitter: @joeyjaws

Name: Tim Janus
Age: 41
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Connection to teammate: Friend
Qualifications: Former competitive eater
Instagram: @timothyjanus
Twitter: @eaterx

KRISTI AND JEN #TeamExtreme

Name: Kristi Leskinen
Age: 36
Hometown: Uniontown, Pa. and Scottsdale, Ariz.
Connection to teammate: Retired Professional Skier and friend
Qualifications: 2nd Place World Champion and 3rd place X Games skier
Instagram: @kristileskinen
Twitter: @kristileskinen

Name: Jen Hudak
Age: 30
Hometown: Park City, Utah
Connection to teammate: Professional Skiers and friends
Qualifications: 2-time X Games Gold Medalist and 4 time National Champion
Instagram: @jenhudak
Twitter: @jenhudak

LUCAS AND BRITTANY #TeamOceanRescue

Name: Lucas Bocanegra
Age: 35
Hometown: Miami Springs, Fla.
Connection to teammate: Dating
Qualifications: Lifeguard Lieutenant
Instagram: @luc8719
Twitter: @luc8719

Name: Brittany Austin
Age: 31
Hometown: Miami Springs, Fla.
Connection to teammate: Dating
Qualifications: Ocean Rescue Lifeguard
Instagram: @bitaba10

ERIC AND DANIEL #TheFirefighters

Name: Eric Guiffreda
Age: 33
Hometown: Ponchatoula, La.
Connection to teammate: Twin Brothers
Qualifications: Firefighter
Twitter: @Eguiffreda

Name: Daniel Guiffreda
Age: 33
Hometown: Gonzales, La.
Connection to teammate: Twin Brothers
Qualifications: Firefighter

THE AMAZING RACE sends 11 teams on a trek around the world. Each Team is comprised of two people. At every destination, each Team competes in a series of challenges - some mental and some physical - and when the tasks have been completed, they learn their next destination. Teams who are farthest behind will gradually be eliminated as the contest progresses, with the first Team to arrive at the final destination winning at least $1 million.

Jerry Bruckheimer, Bertram van Munster, Jonathan Littman, Elise Doganieri and Mark Vertullo are the executive producers for Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Worldrace Productions in association with ABC Studios and Amazing Race Productions. THE AMAZING RACE was created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri.

For more detailed information on THE AMAZING RACE and the Racers' bios, log on to http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/.