Bradley Wiggins produced a dominant performance to win the Tour of Britain time trial today and go top of the general classification.

The Team Sky rider clocked 19 minutes 54.20 seconds over stage three — a rain-lashed 16-kilometre course that started and ended in Knowsley Safari Park.

That was enough to propel him into the gold jersey — 33 seconds ahead of fellow Briton Ian Stannard in the overall standings after his Team Sky colleague finished runner-up in 20mins 26secs.

Wiggins will now aim to defend his lead over the next five days of racing, but will feel he has laid the foundations for success.

Wiggins has endured a difficult season to date, including a failed bid at the Giro d’Italia, but he is now shaping up well for a tilt at the World Championships in Florence later this month.

“Admittedly it’s not been a great season up to now for one reason or another, but I’ve been training right through July and I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve gone round this course,” said the Olympic champion, who came into the stage in 12th place.

He added: “To win these races ... I’m not a great climber so I had to get as much out of that time trial as possible. I had to take every second I could really.”