Endura Racing’s Rob Partridge is planning an assault on the top five of the Tour of Britain general classification ahead of the sixth stage from King’s Lynn to Great Yarmouth.

The Welshman is the best-placed British rider, currently two minutes, 32 seconds behind leader Michael Albasini (HTC-Columbia).

And, with three stages remaining, 25-year-old Partridge is confident he can rise up the standings before Saturday’s finale in London.

“I have a good buffer, time-wise, and the two riders ahead aren’t too far away, so I may be able to nick a few seconds here and there and maybe even move up a bit on GC,” said Partridge.

“But we will need to be vigilant, as the cross-winds that we saw on stage five will probably be there again on stage six and you can get caught out.

“For sure we will be doing our best for more success and to defend our position all the way into London on Saturday.”

Partridge’s team-mate, Iker Camano, finished fourth on Wednesday’s fifth stage from Tavistock to Glastonbury – the day the Spaniard, 26th in the 2004 Tour de France, committed a further two years to Endura.

“For me this is a new experience”, said Camano. “I am used to riding in big teams, but this opportunity is a good one. I have only ridden in two races with the team (Tour of Britain and Paris Correze), and I am very comfortable.

“I am happy with my team mates, the team director (Julian Winn) and the team back-up and I hope that with my experience I can help Endura become a bigger team over the next two years.”