Chris Froome may have all but secured the overall win in this year's Criterium du Dauphiné, having appeared to be the strongest rider in the race, but nothing is decided until the very end as the final day of racing will greet the riders with another summit finish to test their legs. The final climb is not overly difficult but as number 3 and number 10 are only separated by 1.19 there is still much to battle for as the Tour riders take on their last difficult test prior to the world' biggest race. Starting at 12.45 you can follow the exciting conclusion to the mountainous race on CyclingQuotescom/live.

No one will be able to celebrate final victory until the final day of racing as ASO has decided to include another summit finish at the end. The 155,5km stage 8 starts in Sisteron and finishes in Risoul and the first part is rather easy with only a category 3 climb to break the monotony. However, the category 1 Col de Vars (10,4km, 6,9%) - which is very steep near its top - will then take the riders up to 2100m of altitude before a long descent leads to the bottom of the final category 1 climb up to Risoul (13,9km, 6,7%). The ascent was last used in 2010 when Nicolas Vogondy took a surprise victory by escaping from the group of favourites on its slopes and it will provide a fitting end to one week of mountainous racing. The climb is not overly steep but gets tougher in the second part, and the penultimate km has an average gradient of 9% before it levels out in the final 900m. Both the stage win and the overall top 10 spots will be up for grabs as the Tour de France contenders climb their final mountain at race pace before July's big battle.

Yesterday, we expected the breakaway to have a fair chance of making it to the finish but the presence of 17th placed Kevin Seeldraeyers forced Sky not to give them too much leeway. Today the escape once again has a solid chance and we should see a very aggressive start to the race as it is the final chance for many riders to convince their team manager that they deserve to be included in the line-up for the Tour.

The early part of the stage is rather easy and this makes it much easier for Team Sky to avoid yesterday's situation where the break contained a dangerous rider. If they can control the composition of the break, they could get a much easier day in the saddle as they could simply let the escapees ride away with the stage win. On the other hand, teams like Katusha and Movistar who still hope to win a stage in this race, will be keen to control the size of the break, and if they are successful in their mission to only allow a small group up the road, it will be much easier for them to bring the group back together later in the race.

Hence, the break should have a 50-50 chance of making it to the finish. If it is all brought back together before the finish, we could very well see Sky take their third stage win in the race. Yesterday, Richie Porte was allowed to attack close to the finish and we expect a similar scenario in today's stage. Chris Froome will be eager to give his key lieutenant some personal success as he is expected to sacrifice himself in July. Porte has emerged as one of the strongest climbers in the race - the only rider stronger than the Australian is maybe his captain - and he showed that strength when he single-handedly led the peloton for a long time on the stage to Valmorel, still having the strength to finish 9th when the race exploded near the end.

What could change that script is of course that Porte and Froome are isolated too early which would force Porte to go to work instead of attacking, but with Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas both showing some solid climbing form, it is unlikely to happen before the very end of the stage. Sky will be keen not to gamle on Porte losing 2nd place on GC and so it will be up to the other teams to isolate the two leaders earlier on the climb.

Alberto Contador was happy to play luxury domestique yesterday but is unlikely to do the same today. Yesterday's mission was for Rogers to distance 3rd placed Rohan Dennis sufficiently and the team was very successful in that regard. Hence, Contador will not be asked to work at the front and could respond to Porte or attack himself on that steep section close to the top. It will be fascinating to see a head-to-head battle between those two former teammates.

It will be very interesting to see how Chris Froome will react in this situation. He will of course not chase Porte down but is unlikely to allow his main Tour rival too much room. If Contador attacks, the Briton is likely to respond and even counter the move and if that happens, no one will be able to respond. Thus we could very well see Porte try his hand and if that move is unsuccessful, Froome will simply underline his superiority in the race.

The fact that Sky won't risk losing 2nd place means that they will try to keep Porte in reserve for as long as possible. This forces the team to set a rather modest pace on most of the climb, thus allowing as situation like yesterday's where some of the strongest climbers could sneak off the front. Jakob Fuglsang showed his strength yesterday, Daniel Navarro is also going strong right now and Samuel Sanchez will be eager to make it two in a row.

The Katusha duo of Daniel Moreno and Joaquin Rodriguez will doubtlessly try their hand at some point. The latter showed improvements yesterday but lacked his usual kick when he tried to escape in the end. We doubt that he is strong enough to win a summit finish at the moment. Moreno will be keen to move onto the overall podium and that will only happen if he drops Michael Rogers. We should be in for a tight battle for the final podium spot between Moreno, Rogers, Navarro and Fuglsang but their close marking of each other will make it difficult for any of them to actually win the stage.

Finally, Alejandro Valverde of course deserves a mention. The Spaniard has had a strange strategy in recent days, twice going off in early attacks without really giving it his all. Yesterday, he was clearly suffering on the Noyer but today's climb is much easier. If can keep up with the Sky riders, he could very well end up winning the stage as he is only really challenged by Moreno in a sprint in the final, rather easy kilometer.

It is much harder to predict the composition of the early breakaway as the easier start makes luck play a much greater role when it comes to joining the day's early move. However, it requires a solid pair of climbing legs to finish it off in the tough finale and so the stage will in any case be won by a rider who knows how to go fast uphill.

It would be hard to bet against the Europcar of Pierre Rolland and Thomas Voeckler. The former was in yesterday's break but was ultimately unsuccessful due to the lack of cooperation. However, he battled on to finish 26th, only 3.03 behind Sanchez, thus showing that he is in splendid condition. Voeckler showed his strength in stage 6 and yesterday he even managed to finish 14th. If any of those is part of a break staying clear to the finish, they could very well make it three for their team in this race.

Jurgen Van Den Broeck tried his hand yesterday and could do the same today as he appears to have recovered from his recent illness. Egor Silin, Haimar Zubeldia, Matthew Busche, Mikel Nieve, Damiano Cunego and Jose Herrada have all shown some solid climbing form and have lost enough time to be allowed some leeway if they go on the attack. There are plenty of strong riders in this race and it will require some solid work to bring the back if they are still clear at the bottom of the Col de Vars.

Starting at 12.45, you can follow the action on CyclingQuotes.com/live.

CyclingQuotes' stage winner picks: Chris Froome, Richie Porte,  Alejandro Valverde

Outsiders: Alberto Contador, Daniel Moreno, Pierre Rolland