This Tour of Britain has offered a fascinating glimpse into the future.
All the chatter in the background has been about Team Sky: who they may or may not sign, how their team will be structured.
Directeur sportif Dave Brailsford has been on Tour for a couple of days and while he's tried to melt into the background, he must also be delighted to see Edvald Boasson Hagen emphasise his huge potential.
He's a massive prospect: Still only 22, he can sprint at a level that nobody can live with in this race- whether he can take that form into the Grand Tours, only time will tell.
There is the potential for Boasson Hagen to be going head-to-head in the sprints against Mark Cavendish next season, having ridden together in this year's Giro.
It's just possible that Brailsford's Team Sky might structure the line-up around him: maybe to begin with they will go for prestigious stage victories on the Tour de France rather than having a GC contender.
Whatever happens, it's been really interesting watching him this week and right now, I don't see any reason why he can't win the next three stages, too.
It's hard to see how anyone will challenge him - remember he has most of the lead-out team that Cavendish enjoys in the Tour de France. When you have the likes of Maxime Monfort, Kim Kirchen and Tony Martin working for you, you are always goign to have a chance.
That lead-out train is intimidating for other riders and Boasson Hagen has made the most of that.
As for the main attraction for British fans, Bradley Wiggins, we had an interesting chat earlier this week when he said he thinks he can improve on fourth place on the Tour de France.
I wouldn't want to disagree with anything he says about his own ability. I'll never forget his disappointment after Garmin-Slipstream failed to win the team time-trial in Montpellier this summer.
He's right to say it wasn't the perfect Tour from Garmin - and it was interesting to hear him declare, with all due respect, that he believes he's a better athlete than the Lance Armstrong of 2009.
Take out that bad day in the time trial in Annecy and Wiggins would have been on the podium.
The one thing to say is the size of the crowds out to see Wiggins has been incredible. He won't ever have encountered anything like that and it's a measure of his achievement at this year's Tour - as well as how much cycling is growing in this country.
It's disappointing that we haven't had British stage winner since 2007 - why can't we grab this race by the scruff of the neck?
You have to go back to the days of the Milk Race for an overall British winner.
But Russell Downing's story is certainly a happy note to end on. No doubt, he was inspired by beating the likes of Lance Armstrong in this year's Tour of Ireland. He's been riding strongly all week and is sure to do a great job for Team Sky.
If this race is a glimpse of what's to come, then there's plenty for British cycling fans to get excited about.
