THE SHORT ANSWER
Friel wrote Fast After 50, so he's not going to pretend the decline isn't coming — he'll tell you straight that the first thing an ageing athlete notices is their VO2 max sliding, and that it starts quietly somewhere in your mid-to-late 30s whether you feel it or not. Here's the part that catches people out: for years your growing race-craft and pacing smarts hide it, so the numbers hold up even as the ceiling drops. Then one season the cover runs out. His answer is the opposite of the advice most riders follow, which is to quietly drop the hard stuff as they age. Protect the intensity — the high-end work is exactly what defends the top of the engine, and it's the first thing to disappear for good if you stop chasing it. The volume keeps the base honest; the VO2max sessions, done with real intent and proper recovery around them, are what keep you fast.
WHO IS JOE FRIEL?
Joe Friel wrote The Cyclist's Training Bible — the book that taught a generation of amateur cyclists how to think about periodisation, training stress, and the structure of a season. Co-founder of TrainingPeaks and former chairman of the USA Triathlon National Coaching Commission, he is the bridge between sports science and the home-trainer cyclist trying to peak for one event a year. Most modern amateur coaching software still leans on his vocabulary: periodisation, A/B/C races, base, build, peak, recovery weeks.
FRIEL ON VO2 MAX
Friel’s key positions on VO2 max work.
- Periodisation: structure your year into base, build, peak, race, and transition phases — each with a different physiological focus.
- Train your weakness, race your strength — the off-season is for fixing limiters, the in-season is for sharpening what already works.
- Recovery weeks every 3-4 weeks are not optional — they are the mechanism that allows training stress to convert to fitness.
- Heart rate zones are still the most accessible intensity tool for amateurs, and pair well with power for the riders who have both.
- After 50, the priorities shift: more strength work, slightly fewer high-intensity sessions, longer recovery between hard days.
IN FRIEL’S OWN WORDS
Verbatim from Joe Friel’s appearances on the podcast.
“the first thing that athlete becomes very aware of as they get older is their VO2 max is declining the aerobic capacity is going down you may not be aware of it at first it's actually starting someplace probably in your early to mid to late 30s depending on your your training but it's going to go down there's no question about it”
HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST
Episodes where Joe Friel covers VO2 max work and related ground.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
What does Joe Friel say about VO2 max work?
Friel wrote Fast After 50, so he's not going to pretend the decline isn't coming — he'll tell you straight that the first thing an ageing athlete notices is their VO2 max sliding, and that it starts quietly somewhere in your mid-to-late 30s whether you feel it or not. Here's the part that catches people out: for years your growing race-craft and pacing smarts hide it, so the numbers hold up even as the ceiling drops. Then one season the cover runs out. His answer is the opposite of the advice most riders follow, which is to quietly drop the hard stuff as they age. Protect the intensity — the high-end work is exactly what defends the top of the engine, and it's the first thing to disappear for good if you stop chasing it. The volume keeps the base honest; the VO2max sessions, done with real intent and proper recovery around them, are what keep you fast.
What is Friel's main point on vo2 max?
Periodisation: structure your year into base, build, peak, race, and transition phases — each with a different physiological focus.
Which Roadman Cycling Podcast episodes cover Joe Friel on vo2 max?
Friel discusses VO2 max work in this episode: "The Training Secret To Going FASTER After 40 | Joe Friel".