Semenuk, 25, is a superstar of the sport but had a rough time at Crankworx Rotorua last year. He suffered a bad crash on his first run (of two) during the competition stage, then pulled out during his final run. He had to settle for second behind Rheeder in France last June, at the next Crankworx event, before winning the Crankworx Whistler event in Canada in July. He will no doubt be looking to get his season off to a great start here.
NICHOLI ROGATKIN (USA) world No3
Rogatkin, 20, finished on the podium at three of the five diamond events on the FMB World Tour last year, including a second at Crankworx Rotorua. He has a huge future in the sport and will no doubt be looking for another podium finish here.
THOMAS GENON (Belgium) world No4
Genon, 22, burst onto the world stage in 2012 when, at the age of 19, he won the Red Bull Joyride at Crankworx Whistler (Canada) which is regarded as the biggest slopestyle mountain biking event on the planet. He is ranked No4 in the world and had a good season last year, finishing on the podium at four of the five diamond events on the FMB World Tour last season.
SAM PILGRIM (Great Britain) world No6
Pilgrim's best finish last year in a diamond-level event was fifth in France. The 25-year-old is another rider with a huge following on social media boasting almost 200,000 likes on his Facebook page. He posted a video this week of him shredding on the luge. Unfortunately, that isn't an event at Crankworx this year.
TOMAS ZEJDA (Czech Republic) world No7
Zejda, 25, will be looking to repeat the success of fellow Czech rider Tomas Slavik, who won the Mons Royale Dual Speed and Style on Thursday night on Mt Ngongotaha. Zejda has worked with Nitro Circus in the past, doing a show with them in Prague, and has plenty of great tricks up his sleeve.
SAM REYNOLDS (Great Britain) world No8
Reynolds, 24, finished sixth at this event last year. He is ranked No8 in the world and hails from Hampshire, England.
TOMAS LEMOINE (France) world No9
Lemoine's top finish last year came at Crankworx Whistler, where he finished fourth in the huge slopestyle event. The 19-year-old is the youngest rider inside the world's top-10 and has a huge future ahead of him in the sport.
YANNICK GRANIERI (France) world No10
Unlike fellow Frenchman Lemoine, Granieri, 29, is the oldest rider inside the world's top-10. Granieri will have plenty of experience to fall back on when he tackles the imposing course on Mt Ngongotaha today.
- Rest of the field: Max Fredriksson (Sweden), Mehdi Gani (France), Szymon Godziek (Poland), Amir Kabbani (Germany), Anthony Messere (Canada), Louis Reboul (France), Carson Storch (USA), Torquato Testa (Italy), Anton Thelander (Sweden).
- Prize money today: 1st $20,000, 2nd $10,000, 3rd $7,500, 4th $5,000, 5th $2,500, 6th $1,000.
