Going back to the original question, how good is VO2 max = 65
and looking at the info on the Polar website, we see that for age category 18-24, the mean VO2 max is 47 ml, with a standard deviation of about 10 ml, ie roughly 68% of the sample fall between 37 and 57ml.
Let's assume than we have a normal distribution with mean 47 and s.d =10.
Then we we will get
> 47 ml 50%
> 57 ml 16%
> 67 ml 2.5%
> 77 ml 0.15%
> 87 ml 0.003%
> 97 ml 0.0000?%
I don't have a table handy, I'll come back later.
Anyway, to know wheher or not the distribution is normal is really a arduous task, not only do you need to define your sample population, but then you need to measure a good 100 000 people.
So Craig1985, you are in the top 2-3%.
I hope people will improve on what I wrote, which is just a sort of draft. If you take those figures at face value and say that you need a VO2 max of > 77 ml to become a pro cyclist, it means that in a country where 400 000 boys are born every year ( France for ex.) about 600 have the potential to become pro cyclists.
and looking at the info on the Polar website, we see that for age category 18-24, the mean VO2 max is 47 ml, with a standard deviation of about 10 ml, ie roughly 68% of the sample fall between 37 and 57ml.
Let's assume than we have a normal distribution with mean 47 and s.d =10.
Then we we will get
> 47 ml 50%
> 57 ml 16%
> 67 ml 2.5%
> 77 ml 0.15%
> 87 ml 0.003%
> 97 ml 0.0000?%
I don't have a table handy, I'll come back later.
Anyway, to know wheher or not the distribution is normal is really a arduous task, not only do you need to define your sample population, but then you need to measure a good 100 000 people.
So Craig1985, you are in the top 2-3%.
I hope people will improve on what I wrote, which is just a sort of draft. If you take those figures at face value and say that you need a VO2 max of > 77 ml to become a pro cyclist, it means that in a country where 400 000 boys are born every year ( France for ex.) about 600 have the potential to become pro cyclists.