Nope, doesn’t matter. You answered your own question: the cardiovascular load is similar. Remember that you are training a physiological process during VO2 workouts, not a muscular workout (not primarily anyway).
Think about all the other endurance sports which require VO2max training — running, XC skiiing, swimming, triathlon — it doesn’t matter what physical action you take to reach a state of VO2max as long as you achieve & maintain the effort to induce adaptation. 