Wiggins moves into the leaders Jersey: Vuelta

The Brit moved into the race lead by seven seconds over team-mate Chris Froome as Team Sky moved into a superb 1-2 at the top of the general classification.

In scenes that resembled those of stage nine on La Covatilla where the combination of Wiggins and Froome took the fight to the favourites, the duo were once again on the offensive as action resumed after the rest day.

With a breakaway up the road to contest the stage win a group of elite contenders, led by overnight leader Froome, were left to fight it out on the run up to Estacion de Montana Manzaneda.

Froome kept a cool head and set a strong tempo on the front in aid of Wiggins as a number of riders launched attacks on the final climb.

For the second mountaintop finish in succession Wiggins then came to the fore and put in a considerable effort on the front, stringing out the group with a burst that dropped the man who had split the Team Sky riders going into the rest day, Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard Trek).

Despite being distanced temporarily by the powerful effort, Froome dug in to produce a gutsy final two kilometres, losing the race lead but clinging to second overall on the leaderboard after a selfless display.

With the duo now occupying the top two spots on GC, Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) remains a threat 11 seconds back on Wiggins, while Fuglsang slipped back to fifth on the day, 19 seconds off the British National Champion.