Time bonuses have been halved for this year's Giro d'Italia, while points for sprint and mountain classification have been focused on key stages to intensify the fight for special jerseys, confirmed by RCS Sport, the organiser of the Giro d'Italia.

In this year's race, 10, 6 and 4 seconds will be awarded to the first three finishers of each road race stage respectively. 3, 2 and 1 second will be awarded at intermediate sprints during the stage.

The time bonuses have shrunk comparing with last year's edition, when 20, 12 and 8 seconds were awarded at stage finishes and 5, 3 and 2 seconds at intermediate sprints. In 2012's race, there were no time bonuses as Ryder Hesjedal took the overall victory.

According to a press release from RCS Sport, the change is aimed to make Giro d'Italia "more exciting from a technical, racing and entertainment point of view". The time bonuses should be parallel with "time gaps in modern cycling".

Meanwhile, the scales for red jersey (points classification) and blue jersey (mountains classification) have been modified, too.

For points classification, stages will be divided into three levels according to their difficulty. Level one stages will be the flat stages, level two will be hillier and level three will be the mountainous ones. The scales are:

Level one: 50, 40, 34, 28, 25, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 point for the first 20 riders;

Level two: 25, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 for the first 15 riders;

Level three: 15, 12, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 for the first 10 riders.

Intermediate sprints will follow a resemblant scale to offer points. It's still unknown that which stages will be in which level, though. Under the renewed scale, sprinters could have better chance to contest the red jersey. Joaquim Rodriguez and Mark Cavendish won the points classification in the 2012 and 2013 edition of Giro, respectively.

For mountains classification, the points awarded on difficult climbs will increase. Cima Coppi, the highest climb in each edition of Giro d'Italia, this year being Passo dello Stelvio, will offer 40, 28, 21, 15, 10, 7, 4, 2 and 1 point to first eight riders reaching its summit. Category one climbs will offer 32, 20, 14, 10, 7, 4, 2 and 1 point, while category two climbs 14, 9, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point, category three climbs 7, 4, 2 and 1 point and category four climbs 3, 2 and 1 point. The new scale favours the riders who can put up good performances on harder climbs.

This year, Giro d'Italia will start in Belfast, Ireland on May 9 and ends in Trieste on June 1.