Despite a strong finish to the 2013 season, Wiggins started 2014 with question marks over his future as he began the final year of his existing Team Sky contract.

With Chris Froome now bona fide leader, Wiggins was forced into a secondary role, which a below-par start to the season and struggles in the Tirreno-Adriatico mountains did little to help.

New ambitions, including a shot at the one-day cobbled Classics, were announced but with the hero of 2012 looking a shadow of the lion-heart of that year, rumours as to his future continued to circulate.

The start of Wiggins’ cobbled Classics campaign was also delayed, with training rather than racing the preferred course of preparation, leaving little clue as to his form.