Here is some info on VO2 Max
The value you are given by the test administrator will be in one of two forms. The first is called your absolute VO2 max. This value will be in liters/min and will probably be between 3.0 and 6.0 liters/min if you're a man and between 2.5 and 4.5 l/min if your are a woman. This absolute value does not take into account differences in body size, so a second way of expressing VO2 max is common. This is called your relative VO2 max. It will be expressed in milliliters per min per kg bodyweight (ml/min/kg). So if your absolute VO2 max was 4.0 liters/min and you weighed 75 kg, then your relative VO2 max would be 4000 divided by 75, or 53.3 ml/min/kg. In general, absolute VO2 max favors the large endurance athlete, while relative VO2 tends to be higher in smaller athletes.
So you want to build a great endurance athlete? Well we know the heart is important, as well as the composition of the working skeletal muscles. What is the effect of the size of the athlete?
Form Follows Function: The "optimal" physical dimensions of an endurance athlete are critically dependent on the specific demands of the sport. What is the resistance that must be overcome? If it is gravity, such as in running or road cycling in the mountains, then a high aerobic capacity relative to bodyweight is most important. If the primary resistance is air (time trial cyclist) or water, then absolute aerobic capacity is most important because bodyweight is supported during the activity.
We will assume for now that skeletal muscle characteristics (i.e. lactate threshold) are identical.
Let's put some numbers to this. Start with an elite road cyclist: 5'7" (1.70m) bodyweight 140 lbs (63.6 kg), absolute VO2 max 5.0 liters/min, (79 ml/kg/min). If we create a geometrically similar and qualitatively identical athlete that is 12% taller, he will be 6'3" (1.9 m). His cross sections (bones, muscles, heart) will all be related as the square of 1.7 to the square of 1.9. Because of the increased heart size and, therefore, stroke volume, absolute VO2 max will increase 25% to 6.25 l/min. So, this taller version should be a faster road cyclist right? Wrong. His volume (weight) will increased as a cubed function of height. Therefore our rider will now weigh 195 pounds (88.6 kg). His relative VO2 max will therefore decrease 9% to 71 ml/min/kg. This is still quite high, but not high enough to win major road races. Our big rider will suffer trying to stay with his smaller version in the hills. However, if he learns to row, his absolute increase in aerobic capacity will serve him well because the penalty for carrying around the extra mass will be less severe (there will be some, due to the increased wetted surface area [drag] of his boat).
In fact, these two hypothetical athletes are representative of the physical dimensions and capacities of elite road cyclists and rowers respectively. The men's U.S Olympic rowing team (35 members) averaged 6 feet 4 inches (1.92m) and 194 lbs (89 kg) with an absolute VO2 of 6.25 l/min (data supplied by Fred Hagerman PhD at Ohio University). I do not have exact figures for raod cyclists.