Smart strategy is certainly a strong role in winning. Some examples:
TAR7 - Rob quits the meat Roadblock in Camping Suizo, Argentina and convinces Deana and Meredith to also quite and assure his and Amber's safety in the race, without even completing that awful challenge!
TAR5 - Chip & Kim Yielding Colin & Christie was a great move which nearly (twice) knocked Colin & Christie out of the race. They won anyway!
TAR14 - Luke, your U-Turn was perhaps the smartest Yield/U-Turn in TAR history, in my opinion (unlike Tammy & Victor, who U-Turned a ery inconsistent team in the vital part of the race) and although I liked Amanda & Kris, I thought you made a great decision in U-Turning them! The funny part was, they didn't even suspect it was you, so
looking like you aren't a threat or cut-throat can be an advantage!
(Oh, and I would definitely classify Tammy & Victor as Villains, although I would NOT want to see them again. I had enough of that! Jaime & Cara, Margie & Luke and Kisha & Jen were my favorites from TAR14, and that made that whole argument (Margie & Luke vs. Kisha & Jen) extremely difficult to watch!)