'How we won Race Across the World 2024'

Race Across the World winners Alfie and Owen share their secrets

Race Across the World's Alfie and Owen share their secrets to winning. (Studio Lambert)
Race Across the World's Alfie and Owen share their secrets to winning. (Studio Lambert)
  • Race Across the World 2024 winners Alfie and Owen won the £20,000 when they crossed the finish line first in Lombok after beating close rivals Eugenie and Isabel in a speedboat race in a tense final. It was an epic journey which saw them race 15,000km across Eastern Asia.

  • Alfie and Owen shared their secrets to winning the BBC reality show with Yahoo.

Our secret to winning Race Across the World was quickly figuring out the balance between race, strategy, budget.

We got the balance spot on for pretty much the whole thing. And being consistent as well. Consistency is key. You want to get yourself in a good position and stay there if you can and that's what we did, bar one or two checkpoints. We ran the race exactly how we wanted to, we got an amazing set of experiences out of it and we didn't lose our friendship. We couldn't have asked for much more out of it.

We thought we were gonna have a big bust up or an argument at some point in Race Across the World but we just didn't. It was a bit of a surprise. We did say if we were gonna have an argument, we would have a proper fight. That didn't happen so we're all good. We were very open with each other, we understood what each other wanted from the race and we made that clear to each other.

Watch the astonishing moment Alfie and Owen won Race Across the World

We were really good throughout the entire process and kept the focus on our own race. We didn't need to steal any taxis or lie to anyone - although everything was done fully lightheartedly and in jest. We focused on ourselves and we knew that if we executed everything as we needed to, then we were gonna win. When we got to the port, our boat docked in first and then we just ran. Eugenie and Isabel were never gonna keep up with us.

To be honest, Betty and James would have been right up there if they just had a little bit more luck. Even even in the final, they missed a couple of connections that possibly could have made them make up a few hours. They just didn't get the rub of the green for the entire eight weeks. Sometimes just part of the race is that we were lucky and we made a lot of our connections. So it's hard to analyse anyone's game plan any further than luck.

Race Across the World's Alfie and Owen won the £20,000. (Studio Lambert)
Race Across the World's Alfie and Owen won the £20,000. (Studio Lambert)

It was so nice to relive winning Race Across the World all again. So many people have been messaging us on Instagram. It's nice to see all the support and give something back to all the people that were rooting for us. It was rewarding for us and them.

We did a little viewing party for the final at a football clubhouse with some friends and family to watch it. It's great to get our win out there now and not have to hide it. We weren't close to giving away the secret we won because we got into the mindset we can't tell anyone it'll be better for us if nobody knows. It was worth it in the end. We will go out on Saturday with a few mates as well get some drinks to celebrate. Nothing too crazy.

Race Across the World stars toast to Alfie and Owen's win. (Studio Lambert)
Race Across the World stars toast to Alfie and Owen's win. (Studio Lambert)

We had the travel bug before we did the race. We've been away loads together, and we love it, so we have no reason to stop especially with a bit more money. Now we can enjoy doing something we like! We were away about a week or two ago in Albania just for a short trip and then we're going away again in a couple of weeks with some other mates as well. So we've got no big things planned but a few holidays here and there.

Now when travelling, we realise you don’t always need to go on Google Maps or Trip Advisor to find out something. A lot of time the local people have the best knowledge. Even if there's a bit of a language barrier, it's definitely worth getting past that to get their recommendations and help because half the time it will be so much better than anything you find online.

Race Across the World's winners Alfie and Owen have a few plans to celebrate. (Studio Lambert)
Race Across the World's winners Alfie and Owen have a few plans to celebrate. (Studio Lambert)

The kindness of strangers is definitely the core of Race Across the World. It's been shown in every single series and episode. To be fair, we didn't come across many people at all who just flat out refused to help so it was incredible. It is as genuine as it looks. These people aren't getting paid by production, like some people have suggested. These are people we approach in the street. It really is so authentic and so moving when someone decides to help you.

Trust in the power of kindness, that was definitely the sole thing we learned because we came across so many people that didn't have much to offer but they offered what they had.

Race Across the World winners Alfie and Owen told their story to Yahoo's Lily Waddell.

Catch up on Race Across the World season four and the reunion on BBC iPlayer now. Celebrity Race Across the World has just been announced.