As expected, riders from HTC won gold in both the men's ITT and road race world championships in Copenhagen - but the rainbow stripes worn by Tony Martin and Mark Cavendish will run underneath different sponsors' logos next season.
Martin will take his long neck off to QuickStep where he will continue being the best against-the-clock racer of his generation, but he'll have less lead-out work to do when Cav completes his likely transfer to Sky.
Although Saddles likes the idea of Skittles jumping in with a 13th Hour rescue package and rebranding HTC under the catch phrase 'Taste the Rainbow', it just won't happen.
HTC, the most successful team in modern memory, has pretty much already been buried - and the double-win in Copenhagen was a fitting farewell to a classy set-up of the kind that may never be seen again in professional cycling.
That said, HTC didn't really have much to do with either victory. ITT's are just that - individual - and Martin won it for Germany because he was (is) the best, not because of who will soon be paying his final monthly salary.
Meanwhile, Cav won through a mixture of individual brilliance - did you see how isolated and boxed in he was with just 200 metres left to ride? - and team expertise.
The men who did most of Team GB's damage? Sky trio Bradley Wiggins, Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas. In short: three men with whom Cav should soon riding alongside week in, week out.
And you know what, it kind of makes perfect sense. Next year, the cycling season will have another major focus: the London 2012 Olympic Games - and what better preparation than having all of Britain's best under one roof, training and racing together all season?
After all, Dave Brailsford is the man in charge of both Sky and Team GB.
One can't help but think that should Cav go to Sky, however, the team may have bitten off a bigger slice of pie than it can chew.
Cycling is all about balance - and you can't just put a load of men together on the Tour tightrope and hope no one will plummet into the depths below. You need focus and you need realism.
Wiggins worked his socks off for Cav in Copenhagen - but he won't be able to do that during the three business weeks of July, especially if (as he claims) he feels strong enough and bent on winning both the Tour and a gold medal in the Olympics.
Sky and Brailsford have a bit of a dilemma trying to juggle the aspirations of both Wiggins and Cavendish - and it's a problem made only more acute with the unexpectedly souffléed rise of Chris Froome.
Add to that the arrivals of Richie Porte and exciting Colombian prospect Sergio Luis Henao, and it looks like Sky will have some serious strength in depth next year.
It should be added that the departure of Simon Gerrans (GreenEDGE), Greg Henderson (Lotto) and Steve Cummings (BMC) will open up some spaces - but if you're trading a 35-year-old Kiwi veteran sprinter in for the fastest man on two wheels, then you can't really complain.
There is the theory that too many top cooks will spoil the broth. Adding Cav and Porte to Wiggins and Froome would be like sending Gordon Ramsey and Bill Granger into a kitchen in which Heston Blumenthal and Zachary Palaccio are already sweating over the stove.
It may just prove to be one big sausage fest on two wheels, with Ramsey telling all the others to do the chopping before running off with the accolades when he serves up the dish, while Heston is left simmering in the background, reduced to simply seasoning the soup. Granger may not take to the English ways of scrambling eggs, while Palaccio, perhaps he'll prove to be just a flash in the pan.
Of course, Saddles may be wrong (it happens often).
Porte may rediscover his form and win the Giro; Wiggins might pick up a hall pass and win the Tour without having to toil for Cav; Froome may nobble Cobo in the Vuelta; Cav himself may transfer his rainbow jersey for green in July and take 10 Grand Tour stage wins plus a victory in one of the classics, before nailing an Olympic gold; Edvald Boasson Hagen may win Paris-Roubaix, and Uran, the Dauphine.
Heck, Michael Rogers may actually be spotted on his bike.
Look, it's a good dilemma to have. Cav's arrival may stymie the GC hopes of Wiggins and Froome - but he should pick up a hat-load of stage wins regardless, so if the worst comes to the worst, we're still looking at a team that will pick up 30+ victories over the course of the season.
And that's if things go badly.
If things go well, then the sky's the limit (Saddles hates that overused pun, but as with all clichés, it serves a purpose).
Is it so bad for a British team and someone like Brailsford to aspire to not only be the best, but to do it with a home-grown backbone? Should this far-reaching, ambitious project work and Sky pick up a major Tour win, multiple stage wins and the odd classic, before Team GB run riot in London 2012, then that would be an epic achievement.
For years, British cycling fans had only the likes of Sean Yates, Robert Millar and Max Sciandri (post his Italian 'phase'). Now the options are endless, with Britain's ambrosial talent on the track being fully realised on the road.
That one team under a British umbrella are even daring to think of such multi-layered success should be something to applaud. It's certainly whetting Saddles' appetite.