So I did an outside ride the other day 5x5min@vo2max with 5 min recovery between. I ended up doing the recovery a fair bit easier then what an equivalent TR indoor workout would have had me at. Mostly because of downhills stops etc. Any huge downside to this? I’m talking like 100-110 watts vs. probably 140 inside
Nope, for a VO2 workout like that the priority is full gas on the work intervals. As long as you are recovered between, the watts don’t really matter.
The only downside is increased lactate concentration as the workout goes on. 5 minutes pedalling at 100W isn’t enough to clear very much lactate. But in any event depending on what the intent of the workout is you may not see that as a disadvantage.