REF-987 · Johansen et al., 2025 · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, Vol. · Paper · PubMed

Elite Aerobic Endurance Performance: Is It Really Related to Lactate Threshold Expressed Relative to Peak Oxygen Uptake?

B+moderate evidenceMeasured on trained to elite athletesWritten before October 2026, being re-checked

The study asked how the lactate threshold expressed as a percentage of peak oxygen uptake (LT%) relates to aerobic endurance performance in a large group of athletes from three endurance sports.

A total of 292 athletes (212 male and 80 female) competing in long-distance running, cycling and cross-country skiing were divided by competitive history into elite (n = 71), national (n = 158) and regional (n = 63) groups; VO2peak and LT were tested on the same day with similar protocols.

LT% did not differ between performance levels (78.9%, 79.9% and 80.3% for elite, national and regional), in the whole group or within males and females. VO2peak differed significantly between levels (71.1, 65.5 and 58.1 mL·kg-1·min-1; P < .01), also within each sex, although not when expressed in litres per minute.

The authors conclude that LT% is challenged as a primary determinant of aerobic endurance performance and that VO2peak is confirmed as a primary predictor.

Participants

292 aerobic endurance athletes (212 male, 80 female) competing in long-distance running, cycling and cross-country skiing. Three performance-level groups based on competitive history: elite (n = 71), national (n = 158), regional (n = 63). Age, training history and the split by sport are not given in the abstract.

Protocol

Design: cross-sectional; athletes grouped by competitive history, groups compared.
Tests: VO2peak and lactate threshold tests on the same day for all athletes, with similar testing protocols. The LT definition is not given in the abstract.
Outcome: LT expressed as a percentage of VO2peak (LT%); VO2peak relative to body mass and in litres per minute.
Analysis: between-group (between-athlete) comparison, repeated within males and females.

Key Results

LT% did not differ between performance levels: 78.9% [6.4%] (elite), 79.9% [6.7%] (national), 80.3% [7.1%] (regional).
The same non-significant difference was observed within males and within females.
VO2peak differed significantly (P < .01) between levels: 71.1 [6.5], 65.5 [8.0] and 58.1 [6.4] mL·kg-1·min-1 in elite, national and regional athletes.
The VO2peak difference was also present within males and females separately, although not when expressed in litres per minute.
Authors' conclusion: similar LT% across levels challenges LT% as one of the primary determinants of aerobic endurance performance; VO2peak is confirmed as a primary predictor.

Practical Application

"Is a threshold at a high percentage of VO2max what makes the better athletes better?" In a cross-sectional, between-athlete comparison of 292 runners, cyclists and cross-country skiers (71 elite, 158 national, 63 regional), the lactate threshold sat at 78.9%, 79.9% and 80.3% of VO2peak — no difference by level — while VO2peak was 71.1, 65.5 and 58.1 mL·kg-1·min-1 (P < .01). What separated the levels was the size of the engine per kilogram, not the fraction of it used at threshold.
Read the direction carefully: this compares different people at one time point. It does not show that raising one athlete's VO2peak moves that athlete up a level, nor that threshold training is ineffective — nobody was trained.
The VO2peak difference appeared per kilogram but not in litres per minute. Inference, not tested here: body mass is part of what separates the levels in these sports; the abstract does not report body mass.
The average ratio was close to 80% at every level (78.9%, 79.9%, 80.3%), with a wide spread inside each group (bracketed values 6.4%, 6.7%, 7.1%) — so an individual ratio a few points away from the average is ordinary at any level.

Limitations

Cross-sectional and between-athlete: no training, no follow-up; causal and within-athlete readings are not supported.
Groups were formed from competitive history, not from a measured performance; three sports are pooled and the split by sport is not in the abstract.
The LT method and the test modes are not described in the abstract; "similar testing protocols" is all that is given.
The VO2peak difference between levels held per kilogram but not in litres per minute.
Economy/efficiency is not reported in the abstract, so the study speaks to two of the three classic determinants only.
Written from the abstract and record metadata only (full text not read).
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level

cross-sectional measurement study with ≥100 athletes (n = 292); between-athlete comparison, no intervention

Content correction 2026-09-27
2026-10-02: aligned with the rewritten SYNTH-42 (missing stimulus, one lever per block, level C+): cross-reference description — the between-athlete result is no longer half of its default; it sits under "why a profile does not choose the lever".