QUICK TAKES - Sept. 5, 2009
An Australian newspaper mocked Russell Crowe for smoking and shoveling down a fatty meal during a recent bike ride, so the notoriously salty actor set out to prove he is still in gladiator shape -- by challenging the paper’s gossip columnist to a duel by bicycle.
In a story published Friday, the Daily Telegraph in Sydney said Crowe’s spokesman called up gossip columnist Annette Sharp a day after the critical article appeared this week and said, “Get on your bike. Russell wants you to go riding with him. Are you ready to die?”
Annette Sharp accepted the challenge and the pair met at dawn for a 12-mile ride through the city. Video of the race shows Sharp struggling to keep up while Crowe zooms along unfazed.
Crowe’s manager, Grant Vandenberg, had no comment. “I think everything’s been said in the paper,” he said.
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