LONDON, Sept 11, 2009 (AFP) – Darren Lapthorne may be the only Australian in the British Rapha Condor team but the importance of the Tour of Britain isn’t lost on the Melbourne native.

The 2007 Australian road champion has been based in Bristol with Rapha Condor since February, with the team’s main objective to out-gun the likes of Tour de France star Bradley Wiggins and his Garmin-Slipstream team in the British Tour.

With the likes of newly-crowned British road champion Kristian House in their ranks, Rapha are expected to mount a strong challenge when the peloton start their eight-day journey in Lincolnshire on Saturday.

But while Lapthorne is confident Rapha have the ammunition to play a leading role during the Tour, he admitted the pressure is already mounting.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it but myself and the whole team are a little bit nervous at the same time,” he said.

“It’s the most important race of the season for the team and there will be pressure on us to perform.

“It’s the biggest race in Britain and we are a British team so we need to do well here to get sponsorship.

“We’ve also just completed the Tour of Ireland and it was a bit disappointing. The team went into it with high expectations but fairly reasonable ones and we came out of it a little disappointed.

“We’re all determined to make it up now and put in a good showing on the Tour of Britain.”

Cycling remains on a high in the UK with Mark Cavendish and Wiggins’ success during the Tour de France coming hot on the heels of Team GB’s 14-medal haul at the Beijing Olympics.

And after a frustrating year riding for the German outfit Team Sparkasse in 2008, Lapthorne is enjoying life as part of the Brit-pack.

“Last year I was in Germany and a lot of the big races were being canceled due to a lack of sponsorship and general interest descending,” he added.

“But here it’s the complete opposite. The domestic races are getting bigger and getting better and there’s going to be more international riders in the British teams over the next few years.

“It’s a great time to be involved in the sport in Britain and to be with a British team and I’m loving it at the moment.”