With the Marmotte recently passed, and L'Étape just gone by, we've dug this one out of the archives - Stephen McNally's diary of an epic week of cycling in the French alps with Stephen Surdival and Dave McLoughlin which culminated in a very successful assault by the Stephens on the 2007 edition of the fabled Marmotte sportive, rated by many as the toughest of them all. Read on to admire and be inspired…