Gifts for mountain bikers: Gitta Beimfohr: My top 3 Christmas presents for 30 - 100 euros

I think the best gifts are experiences. Or at least things that invite you to experience something. That's why I've selected three gifts that can still be wrapped in wrapping paper and placed under the Christmas tree (although it's difficult with one of them), but which will ignite the anticipation. That helps a mountain biker through the winter. However, the true potential of these three gifts flares up in spring and then flares up well into autumn. I'll start with the 100 euro category:

Gift tip up to 100 euros: the Destroyer jeans

Huh? A pair of jeans as a Christmas present? For a mountain biker? Wait and see! These trousers tell a really good story, and that's what matters at the festive season. To be honest, this tip doesn't come from me, but from our favourite touring author Sissi Pärsch. She was travelling in South Tyrol for EMTB magazine and brought back a really great hut tour from there. The report was called "Wellness at Destroyer". Many readers will remember it, because there is hardly any other travel story for which the GPS data was accessed more frequently. It's about a two-day tour across the Rodeneck mountain pastures with an overnight stay at the Starkenfeldhütte, the "Denim Destroyer".

This is still the nickname of the 28-year-old hut warden, whose real name is Johannes von Klebelsberg. According to the UCI, Johannes was the 52nd best downhiller in the world in 2019. Unfortunately, he didn't have a sponsor at the time and had to take care of his bike and equipment himself. So at the World Cup in Val di Sole, he simply competed in jeans - mobile phone in his left pocket, wallet in his right back pocket - and roared to 13th place on the super-selective downhill course. A British photographer could hardly believe such nonchalance and immediately renamed Johannes Denim Destroyer.

The Destroyer now lives above Brixen in the renovated Starkenfeldhütte hut with his wife and child (and free-range pigs!), where he pursues his second passion: cooking. Sure, you might even give the love of your life a voucher for a romantic weekend at the Starkenfeldhütte. Or these super-stretchy jeans that the Destroyer sells as a souvenir at the top of his hut.

• Range of use: From downhill racing to the afterparty
• 4D stretch, in all directions
• Very hard-wearing material
• Slim Fit
• SuperDry material dries extra quickly
• Combination of belt buckle and secure ratchet
• A lot fits into the spacious pockets

Price: 84,69 Euro
Order address: www.destroyerbrand.it

And here you can find our story about the Starkenfeld hut.

Gift tip up to 50 euros: 40 super trails in the Alps

Yes, I know: the book has been around for a while, self-praise stinks and so on. It's all true, but what can you do when it's still the best trail book on the market? Smiley! Even an ambitious biker will have fun for years with the epic 40 super trail laps (no bike park included!) presented in the book.

And the fun starts as soon as you set off, because top photographer Markus Greber and the celebrity riders he had with him as models and sometimes as guides (Steffi Marth, Maxi Dickerhoff, Stefan Schlie, Harald Philipp, the Lupato brothers and many more) really gave their all. They took pictures that even inspire non-mountain bikers like my 90-year-old landlady. I actually just wanted to leave her the book to flick through, but she wouldn't give it back. She said:

These photos! This landscape! Now I realise that I have missed something in my life after all.

However, she then added: "But travelling such distances by bike - you're crazy."

Price: 34,90 Euro, published by Delius Klasing Publishing House

PS: If you already have the book, I recommend the second best book on the market. This is also available from Delius Klasingalso costs 34.90 euros and is also sensationally illustrated. In addition to her favourite trails, enduro queen Ines Thoma also provides top restaurant addresses, and delicious food is an essential part of a Tuscany trail holiday:

Gift tip up to 30 euros: Annual subscription Outdooractive Pro+

This gift may not be as festive to wrap, as it is a gift voucher (although it depends on your creativity), but in terms of content it is probably the greatest experience gift you can give a passionate touring biker.

With a Annual subscription Outdooractive Pro* The recipient not only has access to tens of thousands of tours, but also to the corresponding excellent, super-precise vector maps worldwide for self-planning. The GPS tracks of a tour, including the map, can be saved offline in the mobile phone app when travelling, which in turn saves battery power.

For their own safety, users can send their live position to friends on tour and later create a 3D animation of their experience.

The whole thing costs 29.90 euros and the voucher can be downloaded quickly even at the last minute before the presents are given. Info: www.outdooractive.com

If you want to top it off, you can even give away the premium version Outdooractive Pro+. This costs 59.99 euros for one year, but includes exclusive access to professionally created tours, a very detailed weather programme and maps that are otherwise only used by experts. For example, with up-to-date information on residual snow. This allows you to recognise exactly in spring whether the selected trail may still be buried under snow and therefore too dangerous.