Norwegian triathlete stirs things up again as UAE Emirates-XRG Head of Performance responds: “Bizarre”

Blummenfelt posted an Instagram “dump” showing a screen that appeared to list a VO2 max of 101.1 mL/kg/min. If accurate, that would be an extraordinary number: the previously reported highest VO2 max measurement—often linked to Norwegian rider Oskar Svendsen—sat in the high 90s. In any case, the post immediately prompted the usual debate about testing protocols, calibration, and how comparable such lab numbers really are.

For clarity: VO2 max is a measure of aerobic capacity—how much oxygen (in millilitres) your body can take in, transport and use per minute per kilogram of bodyweight during intense exercise.

Jeroen Swart, Head of Performance at UAE Emirates-XRG, saw Blummenfelt’s post and clearly didn’t buy it. On X, he suggested someone should “go to Norway and teach the physiologists how to calibrate a metabolic cart.”

Swart added that, in his view, questionable VO2 data seems to reappear every couple of years, with wildly unrealistic values and sensational stories about superhuman endurance athletes—something he claimed “only ever happens in Norway”, calling the whole thing bizarre.

He also publicly invited Blummenfelt to come to one of the labs connected to his performance network to be tested properly, even saying he would be willing to do it free of charge as a public service.

Blummenfelt has already made a splash in the cycling world, when he said he wanted to chase Tour de France success. The 31-year-old Norwegian later returned to that topic after failing to hit his goal of Olympic gold in Paris, choosing to remain focused on triathlon rather than making a full switch to road racing.

“If I had performed well in Paris, then I think I would have been a road cyclist now.” He stressed he does not want to be afraid of challenges, but that he wants to finish his triathlon career properly first—pointing out that the timing window for a serious cycling switch felt like “now or never”, with Los Angeles 2028 also on the horizon.