On a largely flat but relatively short 16km course the Brit set a searing pace around the Knowsley course, clocking a time of 19 minutes and 54 seconds to move into the gold leader’s jersey by 33 seconds.

A forceful performance saw the Olympic champion in excellent form ahead of the upcoming time trial world championships, as well as furthering his ambitions to win his home race.

After the stage the 33-year-old acknowledged that his ambitions to put in a commanding performance on home soil had been nurtured by a lacklustre 2013:

“It was obvious [how much I wanted it],” said Wiggins after being confirmed as the winner. “The commitment in those roundabouts in the rain. Even from the start – crashing yesterday and not even flinching – and getting back in is not like me,” Wiggins said when commenting on his win on the Sky website.

“Admittedly it’s not been a great season up to now for one reason or another. From the minute I wasn’t riding the Tour I’ve been training locally right through July. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been around this course. I live 20km from here and it was always on my mind – the Tour of Britain and this time trial. It was great just to get out there in front of everybody and to do a performance like that after the last two days.”

With slick roads and a technical course in places, Wiggins admitted that warm-up runs and thorough preparation helped his confidence on the winning run.

“I went through the roundabouts a couple of times," he confirmed. "I got off the first time and pushed the bike against the floor to see how slippery it was. The next time I went through at 40km/h, then 50, then I took it at 55. The last time I came off from behind the car at 60km/h. I just wanted to be 100 per cent sure that I could do that in the race.

“In order to win these races - I’m not a great climb like Dan Martin or Nairo Quintana – so to do a time trial and to get as much out of that time trial as possible. Perhaps gain in some areas where guys aren’t paying as much attention. I just had to take every second I could.”

Wiggins now leads Sky team-mate Ian Stannard by 37 seconds overall.