VO2 Max
120 min
High intensity
Accumulate serious time above 115% of CP without one crushing effort: three blocks of short intervals stepping from 30/30 at 130% down to 1/1 at 115-120%, targeting cardiac output, glycolytic capacity and neuromuscular power.
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
WorldTour team
VO2 Max
120 min
High
8 / 10
Advanced
Indoors
The session
The workout
Written as a share of critical power, so it fits every rider. In Vekta it becomes your watts, with the W′ cost shown before you ride.
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
Why this workout
The breakdown
Inside the workout
A VO2 max session in three blocks of short efforts, all above 115% of CP, targeting maximal cardiac output, glycolytic capacity and neuromuscular power. The short-interval structure accumulates serious time at extreme intensity without burying the rider in one single effort.
Eight 30/30s at 130% of CP with the off at 50%; six 30/30s at 120% with the off at 75%; four one-minute efforts at 115–120% with a minute at 50%. The intensity steps down and the effort length steps up, block by block, with ten minutes between.
Vekta writes each block against CP and the interval analysis afterwards reports time above 90% of VO2 max per block; the W′ trace shows the first block draining fastest, which is the intent.
A VO2 block session from a WorldTour team, once a week, indoors or out. Two hours including the long warm-up and cool-down.
VO2 Max
Stimulus
Advanced
Workout level
Indoors
Best ridden
Road,
DISCIPLINE
The stimulus
VO2 Max, explained
Short, hard repeats that push oxygen uptake to its ceiling and raise it.
What it is
Efforts of roughly one to five minutes above critical power, usually between 105 and 130% of CP, with recoveries short enough that the next effort starts before the body has settled. Formats vary from classic 4×4 and 4×3 to 30/15s and 40/20s, where the "rest" is a tempo effort that keeps oxygen uptake high.
Why it matters
VO2 max is the size of the aerobic engine. Everything below it, threshold, tempo, endurance, is a fraction of it, so a higher ceiling lifts every other zone. It is also the quality that decays fastest without stimulus, which is why the sessions are short, frequent in blocks, and brutally specific.
These are the sessions that change what you can hold for three minutes on a climb or after an attack. Expect to see them in blocks of two a week for three to four weeks, then a rest. They cost more W′ than anything else in the library and should be ridden fresh.
The variable that matters is time above 90% of VO2 max, not the number of reps. Short-interval formats accumulate it with less perceived strain; long formats train the ability to hold it. Watch W′ balance in the preview: a session that drains it in the first set has the wrong recovery.
Add the session to your Vekta calendar and the targets convert from % of CP into your watts. The preview shows where W′ will run low before you ride; the analysis afterwards classifies every interval and tells you how much of the session was actually spent above 90%.
Common questions
How often should I do VO2 max intervals?
Should I use heart rate or power for VO2 max intervals?
Are 30/15s better than 4×4s?
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