Alain Villaneuve ( above ) is one of the many Chicagoans competing for Outgames gold July 25-Aug. 2 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo courtesy of Alain Villaneuve
Alain Villeneuve will be competing in two events this summer at the 2009 World Outgames, but has only one goal: win the gold medal.
In both events, of course.
Villeneuve, 42, a patent attorney who was born in Montreal and has been living in Chicago since 2001, will be competing in the 25-mile cycling time trials and the triathlon, the demanding event that incorporates swimming, bicycling and running—in that order.
"I want to win gold. It's like buying a lottery ticket; you want to win the jackpot," said Villeneuve, who will be joined in Copenhagen by his partner of seven years, Tzu-Kai Lo. "If I do my personal best, I might stand on the podium [ as the gold-medal winner ] ."
Villeneuve competed in eight triathlons in 2008—several sprint distances and some the longer Olympic distance. The Outgames will involve the latter version, which encompasses a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 40-kilometer bike race and then a 10-kilometer run.
He is aiming for a time of two hours and 15 minutes in the triathlon, and his strength is the biking.
"I lived in Europe for a decade and Denmark was one of the places I never went, but I know how wonderful the Danish people are," Villeneuve said. "This is my only vacation this year; I couldn't be more exciting.
"What will be absolutely wonderful is, the 2006 European Triathlon Championship was [ held ] in Copenhagen, and I think we'll be doing the same course."
Villeneuve was second in his age group ( 40-44 ) in the 2008 Proud To Run race in Chicago, held in late June.
In 2009, he will compete in 10 triathlons, though only two will involve Olympic-distance races: the Chicago Triathlon and the Outgames.
"Since Chicago hosted the Gay Games, I think many Chicagoans are set to go back to the Gay Games in Cologne in 2010. But I really encourage Chicagoans to go to the Outgames," Villeneuve said. "Countries such as Denmark are really open to the LGBT community and I really feel like the city of Copenhagen truly will be happy that the Outgames is happening in their city. I really think the Outgames will be a big deal in Denmark."
More from Alain Villeneuve …
—About his partner, Tzu-Kai Lo: "He's a perfect cook and likes to shop." The two will be going to Belgium after the Outgames because Lo is looking for the wares of the high-fashion designers, Villeneuve said.
—Price of his bicycle: $8,000
—Price to bring his bicycle on the airplane: $300
—It's a fact: Is a member of the Chicago Razors, a predominantly-gay triathlon club
—On gay athletes: "At the Beijing Olympics, I think there was only one openly gay athlete out of about 11,000 participants. But I cannot believe that [ Australia's gold medal-winning diver Matthew Mitcham ] was the only gay athlete in the Beijing Olympics. Some people just assume gays are not good athletes, but I think they are absolutely wrong. I think the Outgames will show that gays can in fact be very, very good athletes. Plus, we put a fun dimension to the event that only gay people can. These games always have a social, fun component that is very important. Think about tailgating before a football game. Many think the tailgating is a very integral part of an NFL game."
