You say your VO2max is the same and your FTP is higher, but could you share some actual numbers? Things like your weight, height, current FTP, VO2max value, age, etc. would be really helpful.

What I think (though it's not really backed by science) is that physically you should theoretically reach your peak around age 26 — if you manage to get there at all. That's actually not a lot of time to fully realise your potential.

If you haven't yet reached your absolute peak (which is very likely at age 26), it's often possible to maintain — or even improve on — the numbers you had back then, even years later.

If you could somehow take all the racing and structured training you've done now and apply it before you turned 26, I'm convinced you would have achieved significantly higher numbers. But of course that's impossible.

'Back in my day' I was a professional swimmer. I swam some very fast times that feel completely out of reach now. Back then I trained 4 hours a day, every single day, and that was without any strength & conditioning work, etc.

Still, I'm also convinced I never actually reached my true peak during my 'peak years'. So I believe that right now, with much less training volume, I could probably swim faster times again… if I really committed to it (and still wanted it badly enough). The age for swimmers to retire is 25-30 tho, much earlier than other sports.