Blazin' Saddles: In praise of five-star Alejandro Valverde and Alberto Contador

There will be a time when the names Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde send ageing cycling fans into a reverie – much like how many of us now go weak at the knees simply thinking of Eddy Merckx on a training ride, Marco Pantani battling a mountain, Thomas Voeckler defying Lance Armstrong in yellow or Richard Virenque in pursuit of polka dots on pretty much any climb.

Those fans – the pre-Millennials – will keep the legend of Contador and Valverde alive, and a new generation of fans who were not alive – or too young to appreciate – their panache will rely on a steady stream of YouTube videos depicting these Spanish masters in action.

Contador riding uphill on a broken leg, splitting the Vuelta field with the ambush of Formigal, winking at an in-the-pocket Andy Schleck, battling back in pink on the Mortirolo, not knowing how many fingers to raise on securing yet another Grand Tour scalp.

Valverde dancing on the pedals, frequently topping the WorldTour rankings, notching more podium finishes in the Worlds than anyone else, winning uphill sprints for breakfast, triumphing more times in the Ardennes than Carlos Betancur's had hot dinners.

(Sure, there will be some sticklers who remember them as Contadope and Valmerde – but that's like chastising footballers for diving. This is cycling, after all, and these indiscretions will no doubt become mere footnotes: look at Merckx, Pantani and Virenque. But not Tommy V. Never Tommy V.)

Right, enough of the rose-tinted spectacles – for both riders are currently on scintillating form right in the here and now, continuing to defy their age to build on their legend in the Vuelta a Andalusia Ruta del Sol in southern Spain. Sun shades on.

The annual Valverde love-in kicked off with an opening stage on Wednesday that produced the kind of result usually reserved for the Monument he has won on three occasions – as remarked by Contador's old sparring partner from the 2007 Tour de France, Michael Rasmussen.

An opening stage triumph boded well for Valverde in his quest for a fifth Ruta del Sol victory – just days after he notched his fifth Vuelta a Murcia victory by attacking 70km from his home town and at one point – quite literally – flying downhill while bunny-hopping a sink-hole.

Later this year, of course, Valverde will be the favourite to win a fifth Fleche Wallonne title. Then, in July, he may well take a fifth stage win in the Tour de France. He may be pushing 37 but he's still got a five-star rating in practically every race he enters.

But the fireworks were not set off by Valverde. On arguably the first big summit showdown of the season, it was Contador – making his debut for Trek-Segafredo – who rolled back the years and lit the torch paper.

After his blistering attack, Contador was reeled in by Valverde and a cluster of Sky riders, and after another attempt from the Pistolero to pull the trigger it was Valverde – the Green Bullet – who instead shot off the front and hit the bullseye. His second successive win on Spanish soil reminding us why Valverde earned another nickname – El Imbatido, the Unbeatable – during his time as a junior (when he allegedly took more than 50 wins on the bounce).

Seeing Valverde so strong once again was a reminder of what we're going to miss when he hangs up his cycling shoes. Not that that seems to be coming any time soon: Valverde is under contract at Movistar until 2019 – just shy of his 40th birthday.

The timeless quality and aggressive uphill predictability of Valverde is something to be celebrated. Can you think of any current rider who has been so consistent throughout his career?

By finishing sixth in last year's Tour, Valverde made it nine consecutive top-10 finishes in his last nine grand tour starts (a feat unseen since the days of Miguel Indurain). And this run of top tens only came to an end in September when he put his personal ambitions aside for team-mate Nairo Quintana and, in his third Grand Tour of a long season, finished 12th in the Vuelta. It was only the second time in 18 completed Grand Tours that he finished outside the top 10.

And yet the narrative soon shifted from Valverde back to Contador, whose all-out attack on the final climb in stage two resulted in his compatriot being reduced to zigzagging in his wake.

This was far from vintage Contador – after all, he was caught by Thibaut Pinot before the finish – but if it was a mere taste of things to come, then it justified Trek-Segafredo's decision to entice the multiple Grand Tour winner out of retirement in search of another major win.

Using team-mate Fabio Felline to stretch the pack, Contador danced clear with 5km remaining and saw his heart rate allegedly hit 200bpm en route to taking over the race lead from Valverde ahead of the all-important time trial in Friday's third stage.

Some caveats: the chase was being coordinated by Wout Poels and Mikel Landa – two strong riders, but mere domestiques when it comes to July's Tour.

The likes of Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana, Romain Bardet, Richie Porte, Vincenzo Nibali or Fabio Aru are not in the Ruta del Sol, a four-day early season leg-stretcher.

And when Contador – in his new red-shouldered Trek jersey – led Valverde – in the leader's red jersey – and his former team-mate Ion Izagirre – now in the red of Bahrain-Merida, there was clearly one colour on the mind, and it wasn't yellow.

As swashbuckling as Valverde and Contador continue to prove to be, it's clear that their seasons will perhaps not be defined by their pursuit of the maillot jaune in July, but more realistically in their home Vuelta later on in the year and the battle for the maglia rossa.

Even so, Valverde and Contador are in red-hot early season form – and with Spanish cycling so much in the doldrums, they still offer their nation perhaps the only real chance of glory in the major races. The sight of Landa and Izagirre struggling to keep up as the old masters rolled back the years underlined just how much the new generation has to learn.

The Pistol and the Bullet still clearly have their fingers on the trigger.