VO2 Max Test before a race

I have agreed to help a friend complete a professional scientific study on cycling performance. To complete this study I am required to complete a VO2 max test and a dexa scan. My question is, will doing a VO2 test 12 days before I race effect my race performance or just give me a good indicator of where I’m at (like a ramp test)? I plan on replacing my regularly scheduled TR workout with the test and doing an extra workout to make up any lost tss if needed.

I think you could recover from most anything in 12 days.

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Yeah 12 days is no worries, and I wouldn’t stress about TSS. I doubt that would have a measurable impact on fitness/performance especially this close to an event (The hay’s already in the barn, so to speak) and a v02 test is quite different from the majority of workouts you’d be doing otherwise so I wouldn’t consider it a direct comparison in any case.

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Thanks! The metaphor is reassuring. So could I continue with my regular training plan as scheduled? Would the VO2 test and experiment (which is done almost exclusively in zone 2 and several days later) not change my plan?

Ramp test literally is a vo2 test. They would just put a mask on you while you do it. The length of the steps and ramp rate my differ but that is the standard protocol (whether running or cycling). I had quite a few tests performed during a study I participated on while at univ.

When you do a ramp at home, you get an estimate of vo2 max power. This is because you may hit your vo2max and be able to get to additional steps. You may experience this during your lab test. That is, you produce additional power and sustain it, but your consumption of oxygen stops increasing (tho your watts keep going up). Goodluck!