Playoffs, ski finals, Schmid debut: these sporting events should be kept on your radar in March

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The hot phase begins in the National League, initially with the play-ins. The teams in 7th and 8th place and 9th and 10th place will play each other in home and away matches (March 7 and 9). The winner of the first pair (7th/8th) qualifies for the play-offs. The season is over for the loser of the second game (9/10). The remaining two teams will determine the final play-off entrant, again in a two-legged tie (March 11 and 13).

The quarter-finals of the play-offs start on March 16 and last until March 30. The mode is the well-known one: best-of-seven.

The third month of the year is usually the time of big decisions in skiing. The World Cup Final will take place from March 16 to 24 in Saalbach-Hinterglemm (Austria). From the Swiss perspective, it could rain crystal balls: eight of the ten World Cup ratings could go to the Swiss-Ski team, four to Lara Gut-Behrami (32), four to Marco Odermatt (26), although he already has won the overall World Cup.

Before the final races take place, the men will visit Aspen (USA, March 1 to 3) and Kranjska Gora (Slovenia, March 9/10). The women will complete two speed races in Kvitfjell (No.) (March 2/3) and two technical events in Are, Sweden (March 9/10).

They’re driving again! Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton and Co. start the season in Bahrain. The first two training sessions will take place on Thursday, followed by the first race of the season on Saturday (March 2). The GP in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) will also take place on Saturday (March 9). The race will take place on March 24 in Melbourne, Australia.

In addition to the usual madness in the competition, the second leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League is on the programme. On March 5, Real Sociedad and PSG will duel (first leg 0:2) and Bayern and Lazio (0:1). The next day there are the matches Real Madrid against Leipzig (1:0) and Manchester City against Copenhagen (3:1). The second round of 16 installments then includes Arsenal v Porto (0:1), Barça v Napoli (1:1) on March 12, Atlético Madrid v Inter (0:1) and Borussia Dortmund v Eindhoven (1:1) on March . 13.

From a Swiss perspective, only Servette is represented in the European Cup. The Geneva team will play Viktoria Plzen at home in the round of 16 of the Conference League on March 7, while the second leg will take place a week later in the Czech Republic.

There are also international competitions in March. Switzerland will play two test matches, on March 23 in Copenhagen against Denmark (8 p.m.) and on March 26 in Dublin against Ireland (8.45 p.m.).

The World Indoor Championships will take place in Glasgow (Scotland) from March 1 to 3. There are also four Swiss who can certainly have a say in the medals: Simon Ehammer (24, heptathlon), Jason Joseph (25, 60 m hurdles), Angelica Moser (26, pole vault) and Annik Kälin (25, long jump).

Andy Schmid (40) makes his debut as national coach of Switzerland. On March 16, his team will test against world champion Denmark (4 p.m.). From March 11 to 14, the team will meet for the first time in the Bern area for a short training camp led by the handball legend.

The Masters season starts in March in the US, with the first ATP 1000 tournaments approaching. The tennis professionals will first play in Indian Wells (March 6 to 17) before heading to the “Sunshine State” of Florida in Miami (March 20 to 31).

As with alpine skiing, cross-country skiers are also on the home stretch. But there are still a few races to be completed. There are a total of 14 competitions left in Lahti (Fin), Oslo (No), Drammen (No) and Falun (Sd). The overall men’s standings are led by Harald Östberg Amundsen (25, No.), while Jessie Diggins (32, USA) leads the way in the women’s standings.

The Engadine Ski Marathon will also take place on March 10. Around 14,000 cross-country skiing enthusiasts from 60 countries are expected to take part in the 54th edition of the traditional event in Graubünden.

The ski jumpers also have a full program until the last competitions in Planica (March 21 to 24). For this purpose, Gregor Deschwanden (33) and Co. competing in Lahti, Oslo, Trondheim (No) and Vikersund (No, both events part of the Raw Air Tour). Austrian Stefan Kraft (30) has a 269-point lead at the top of the overall standings over Ryoyu Kobayashi (27, Japan).

The biathlon stars are still flying to three destinations: Oslo, Soldier Hollow (USA) and Canmore (Ka, March 14 to 17). There are still 18 races to go, so there are still a lot of points up for grabs. Johannes Thingnes Bö (30, No) and Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (27, No) have the best chances to win the overall World Cup. However, both have a small lead, so the final events should still offer a lot of excitement.

A Swiss woman is involved in the battle for the small ball on the individual rankings: Lena Häcki-Gross (28) leads the rankings after two of the three races. She could win the rankings on Friday. She would be the first Swiss woman to win a biathlon crystal ball.

The Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships in Winterberg (De) are coming to an end; The two-man bobsleigh competition for women and the four-man bobsleigh competition for men will take place from March 1 to 3.

Source : Blick