Mark Richard, a local architect and not really a cyclist, was the one who first came up with the idea of the Tour of the Gila bicycle stage race. He thought that by organizing a bicycle race in Grant County would help to promote our area to potential tourists. I think that Mark would be pleasantly surprised as to how far the Tour of the Gila has come in the past 31 years. The Tour of the Gila is an ionic American bicycle race that is now known nationally and internationally. Thank you Mark Richard for starting that process.
| MEN | WOMEN | ||||
| Year | Rider | Team | Year | Rider | Team |
| 1987 | Andy Bishop (USA) | 1987 | Nancy Shipp (USA) | ||
| 1988 | Gavin O’Grady (USA) | Cannondale Racing Team | 1988 | Jane Marshall (USA) | |
| 1989 | John Lieswyn (USA) | 1989 | Carolyn Donnelly (USA) | ||
| 1990 | Drew Miller (USA) | 1990 | Carolyn Donnelly (USA) | ||
| 1991 | Björn Bäckmann (SWE) | 1991 | Laura Peycke (USA) | ||
| 1992 | Kevin Livingston (USA) | 1992 | Jane Gagne (USA) | ||
| 1993 | José Robles (COL) | 1993 | Martha Wavrin (USA) | ||
| 1994 | Drew Miller (USA) | 1994 | Carolyn Donnelly (USA) | ||
| 1995 | Jonathan Vaughters (USA) | 1995 | Carolyn Donnelly (USA) | ||
| 1996 | Burke Swindlehurst (USA) | 1996 | Desiree Margagliano (USA) | ||
| 1997 | Bart Bowen (USA) | Saturn | 1997 | No Race | |
| 1998 | Burke Swindlehurst (USA) | Nutra Fig | 1998 | Jeannie Longo (FRA) | |
| 1999 | Chris Wherry (USA) | Saturn Cycling Team | 1999 | Kimberly Bruckner (USA) | |
| 2000 | Eric Wohlberg (CAN) | Team Shaklee | 2000 | Mari Holden (USA) | Timex |
| 2001 | Scott Moninger (USA) | Mercury-Viatel | 2001 | Geneviève Jeanson (CAN) | Rona |
| 2002 | Chris Wherry (USA) | Mercury Cycling Team | 2002 | Geneviève Jeanson (CAN) | Rona |
| 2003 | Drew Miller (USA) | Trek-Volkswagen | 2003 | Geneviève Jeanson (CAN) | Rona Esker |
| 2004 | Scott Moninger (USA) | Health Net-Maxxis | 2004 | Amber Neben (USA) | T-Mobile |
| 2005 | Burke Swindlehurst (USA) | Team Seasilver | 2005 | Kimberly Baldwin (USA) | T-Mobile |
| 2006 | Chris Baldwin (USA) | Toyota-United | 2006 | Kristin Armstrong (USA) | Team Lipton |
| 2007 | Nathan O’Neill (AUS) | Health Net-Maxxis | 2007 | Mara Abbott (USA) | Webcor Builders |
| 2008 | Gregorio Ladino (COL) | Tecos de la Universidad de Guadalajara | 2008 | Leah Goldstein (ISR) | ValueAct Capital |
| 2009 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | Mellow Johnny’s | 2009 | Kristin Armstrong (USA) | Cervélo TestTeam |
| 2010 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | Mellow Johnny’s | 2010 | Mara Abbott (USA) | Peanut Butter & Co. Twenty12 |
| 2011 | Francisco Mancebo (ESP) | Realcyclist.com Cycling Team | 2011 | Clara Hughes (CAN) | Pactimo Cycling |
| 2012 | Rory Sutherland (AUS) | UnitedHealthcare | 2012 | Kristin Armstrong (USA) | Exergy Twenty12 |
| 2013 | Philip Deignan (IRL) | UnitedHealthcare | 2013 | Mara Abbott (USA) | Exergy Twenty16 |
| 2014 | Carter Jones (USA) | Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies | 2014 | Mara Abbott (USA) | UnitedHealthcare |
| 2015 | Rob Britton (CAN) | Team SmartStop | 2015 | Mara Abbott (USA) | Amy D Foundation |
| 2016 | Lachlan Morton (AUS) | Jelly Belly-Maxxis | 2016 | Mara Abbott (USA) | Amy D Foundation |
| 2017 | Evan Huffman (USA) | Rally Cycling | 2017 | Tayler Wiles (USA) | UnitedHealthcare |
| 2018 | Rob Britton (CAN) | Rally Cycling | 2018 | Katie Hall (USA) | UnitedHealthcare |
| 2019 | Jame Piccoli (CAN) | Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling | 2019 | Brodie Chapman (AUS) | TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank |
