The Challenge 41's Cara Maria Sorbello Names The One 'New Threat' Who Was 'Built For Destruction'

Sixteen veterans are about to get a run for their money when "new threats" crash the party in Season 41 of The Challenge.

In The Challenge: Vets and New Threats (which premieres on MTV Wednesday, July 30 at 8/7c), veterans are paired with rookies for another no-holds-barred battle for some big bucks. The vets team is stacked with plenty of familiar faces like Johnny Bananas, CT Tamburello, Aneesa Ferreira, Derrick Kosinski, Ashley "Millionaire" Mitchell, and two-time winner and 10-time finalist Cara Maria Sorbello.

When asked to describe what viewers are in for when the new season explodes onto screens, Sorbello tells TVLine that the latest installment of the competition series is akin to another Fresh Meat or War of the Worlds. After players hiked a mountain with an elevation of 5,479 feet, male/female pairs were formed, with players selecting their partners in the order of how they finished. Sorbello found herself paired with Jake Cornish (Love Island UK 7), a guy she didn't really know, but felt good about from the jump.

"This is pretty early on [when] we get picked by our partners, so there's not anything really that I know about my partner," Sorbello tells TVLine ahead of the season's premiere. "But taking a look around at all the other guys, I feel like he's pretty well built. I know he's a boxer, so I know he's got endurance and he's not afraid to get hit. So, I feel like I'm with a good partner for sure."

Having a teammate of Jake's ilk could help Sorbello in her quest to claim her third victory, as this competition is fierce. Johnny Bananas is paired with Survivor champ Dee Valladares, Aviv Melmed is paired with a beastly new threat Yeremi Hykel from The Amazing Race, and Mitchell gets partnered with a former WWE superstar (!), of all people. Everyone wants this title, and every person is ready to fight, scratch and claw their way to the gold.

When she initially saw the lineup of rookies this season, one female competitor from Canada's Ultimate Challenge stood out to Sorbello.

"Looking at the lineup of women, my eyes were definitely on Leka," she said. "I thought she looked like she could be an insane competitor. She was built for destruction, for sure."

She continued: "Obviously the first thing that jumped out to me was that the girls were stunning and athletic, so the women jumped out to me right off the rip."

While the newbs may be more than ready to physically take on The Challenge, the vets will always have a leg up on them with personal relationships they've built up season after season. Some have even played this game for literal decades. So in terms of the game's social politics, all eyes are on the veterans, Sorbello says.

"Pairing up a new person [with] a vet actually makes things a whole lot easier because the new people, they don't have any history," she says. "They don't really know each other. There's no background or politics when it comes to the new kids, so we're really just playing a vet game with the assistance of the new kids."

Can Cara Maria solidify that third win with Jake's help? You'll have to watch to find out.

Will you be rooting for Cara this season? Let us know in the comments!