The first major gravity showdown of the season is underway in New Zealand as Crankworx Rotorua rolls into the Skyline bike park this weekend.

Two  finals will be broadcast live: the Specialized Kārearea Downhill Finals on Saturday and the Crankworx Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza on Sunday, the second stop of the Slopestyle Super League.

There will be a handful of Canadians worth keeping an eye on.

Downhill finals set after seeding runs

Seeding runs for the Specialized Kārearea Downhill were held Thursday on the Rotorua track.

Local NZ rider Luke Meier-Smith set the fastest men’s time with a 2:55.659, edging out Canadian Dane Jewett, who finished just 0.7 seconds back to claim the second seed heading into Saturday’s final.

American Richie Rude rounded out the top three in seeding.

On the women’s side, defending champion Jenna Hastings topped seeding and will drop last in the final. The only Canadian to race was Emmy Lan.

Canadians to watch in downhill

The Rotorua downhill start list includes a healthy group of Canadian riders.

Among the most notable is Dane Jewett, who got the second-fastest seeding time.

Other Canadians in the field include: Tegan Cruz, Michael Delesalle, Tristan Lemire, Xavier Letendre, Jake Polito and Nathan Sterckx.

Slopestyle: three Canadians in the mix

Sunday’s Slopestyle final will bring together some of the biggest names in freestyle mountain biking. The Canadian contingent is led by three riders.

Jaden Chipman is the Joyride 150 regular and rising contest rider. He had some troubles with a hip in Christchurch, but is definitely looking for redemption.  Chance Moore placed fourth in Christchurch and is definitely eyeing up a podium spot. And Griffin Paulson who placed eighth in Christchurch.

They’ll face a stacked international field including Nicholi Rogatkin, David Godziek and Erik Fedko.

How to watch in Canada

The trickiest part about watching Crankworx live in Canada is timing. But here’s the cheat code:

The Specialized Kārearea Downhill Finals take place March 13th at 11 PM EDT. 

The Crankworx Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza take place March 14th at 5 PM EDT.

The links to both live feeds are below: