Annette Sharp Challenged To Bike Duel By Russell Crowe

Annette Sharp, an Australian newspaper columnist, went into the bad book of Gladiator star Russell Crowe when she mocked at a picture of the actor where he was smoking and eating while riding a bike. Apparently, this displeased Crowe and he challenged the columnist to a bike duel of 12 miles through the city.
The headline to Annette Sharp’s report on Sydney’s Daily Telegraph was “Smokes and Fatty Foods the Fitness Regime for Rusty”. Soon after this article was published Crowe’s spokesman called in to say, “Get on your bike. Russell wants you to go riding with him. Are you ready to die?”
The early morning duel saw Crowe leading while Sharp was struggling to keep pace with her. In the course of the race Crowe tells Sharp that she is a better bike rider than Baz Luhrmann, an Australian film maker. In the video of the duel Crowe is seen telling to Sharp, “He holds the record for the worst cycling tourist we’ve ever taken for a ride - you are the man Baz Luhrmann is on a bicycle.”
Sharp was struggling throughout the entire race but towards the end she fell off the bicycle. Later, after the race, she wrote, “I was sliding exuberantly down the track when, with a thump, I came off the seat and landed painfully on the crossbar. This was surely it - his victory moment, with me sprawled in the dirt.” But Crowe showed his magnanimous spirit and helped Sharp to get on her feet and also pulled up her trousers to check if her knees were hurt.