La Planche des Belles Filles, France (Sports Network) - It was a great day for the Brits in the Tour de France, as Bradley Wiggins moved into the overall lead of cycling's most prestigious event after finishing just behind countrymate Chris Froome in Stage 7 on Saturday.

Froome, a British citizen born in Kenya, outraced Wiggins and defending champion Cadel Evans of Australia to the wire for the stage win, finishing the 199 kilometers from Tomblaine to La Planche des Belles Filles in a time of 4 hours, 58 minutes and 35 seconds.

Evans was placed second, just ahead of Wiggins, and both were credited with the same time -- two seconds behind Froome.

Wiggins now owns the yellow jersey as the overall leader by 10 seconds over Evans. Italy's Vincenzo Nibali was another five seconds behind the stage winner in fourth place on Saturday and is now third overall -- 16 seconds behind Wiggins.

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara had held the overall lead since winning the prologue last Saturday, but finished 20th in Stage 7. He was 1:52 behind Froome for the day and dropped to 11th overall -- 1:43 off the lead pace.

Cancellara, not known for his ability in the mountains, tried to keep up with the lead group before finally dropping off the pace with about five kilometers remaining.

The finish in La Planche des Belles Filles was making its Tour debut and the closing six-kilometer climb featured a steep ascent with an average gradient of 8.5 percent -- the final 100 meters of which increased to 14 percent.

Wiggins, Evans and Nibali were joined in the lead group by Froome and Estonia's Rein Taaramae. The quintet battled until the final grueling meters before Froome pulled away for his first career stage win.

Stage 8 on Sunday is a 157.5-kilometer jaunt from Belfort to Porrentruy in Switzerland. It features seven climbs, including a Category 1 ascent that leads to a downhill finish.

07/07 13:34:21 ET