I think I read recently that Lance has no idea what his VO2 Max is. I have had my VO2 measured several times when part of the US National Team for rowing. The info was useful to the exercise physiologists who were working with the coaches and trainers to help design better training programs, and to measure our progress.

I met Lance at the OTC in Colorado Springs in the winter of 93 (or maybe 94?). Both the cyclists and rowers had just gone through a round of VO2 testing. We had to run on a treadmill that kept getting slightly faster and slightly steeper at certain time intervals. We had a mouthpiece taped in place and our noses clipped shut. You kept going until you fell. Also along the way, they would take blood samples to measure blood chemistry. You kept going until you fell off. There were guys holding big pads and pillows to catch you when you collapsed. It was horrible.

I remember that I had the same raw score as Lance, but he beat me when adjusted for body mass. I joked with him "Yeah, but how many pull ups can you do?". We talked about how Lance's adjusted score was the same as Miguel Indurain at 88ml/kg/min. Anyway, we were both in awe of Greg Lemond's score which was posted at the top of the wall at 93ml/kg/min.

The only way it would be useful to an individual would be to test multiple times a year as a check on your training. There are easier ways to test your performance.