Tour of Gila podium for men after stage 1 (left to right): third-placed Eric Brunner, stage winner Walter Vargas in the red leader's jersey, second-placed Beckam Drake in the white youth jersey (Image credit: Tour of the Gila) Two-time winner Lauren Stephens (Aegis x Leaders of Enchantment) began her defence of the Tour of the Gila elite women's overall title by holding off Emily Ehrlich (Virginia's Blue Ridge TWENTY28) by just six seconds to win the elite women’s stage 1 individual time trial. Team Medellín-EPM’s Walter Vargas, a seven-time Pan-American ITT winner and second overall in New Mexico in 2024, set the fastest time to win the elite men’s ITT on Wednesday, besting his closest rival by 37 seconds. Starting mid-way in the 185-rider elite men’s field, Vargas clocked 32:30 on the 16.15-mile (26km) course, highlighted by 1000 feet (304.8 metres) of elevation gain.…