Strade Bianche has a new start and 2 more sections of white roads for 2014, RCS announced.

The 2014 race is still based around Siena but begins in San Gimignano, almost 50km west of the old start in Gaiole in Chianti, making the race 9km longer.

There are now 10 sections of white roads to be raced and while the distance of the roads has been reduced from 57.2km to 45.4km, Sector 2 to 5 come very quickly after each other, with Sector 2 beginning at 48km and Sector 5 ending at 84km, leaving the riders with no time for a breather in the opening exchanges of the race.

RCS technical director Mauro Vegni believes that this run of gravel sections will make the race more of a challenge for all riders taking part.

"The Strade Bianche is a jewel in the international cycling scene. This year the route is technically more difficult than in the past, given the greater number of sections of earthworks at the start.”

There are some changes to the second half of the route too, with the race avoiding Buonconvento. The sections of Monte Sante Marie makes the cut from last year route. It is the only one with a five star difficulty rating and could easily scupper someone’s chances of victory.

Le Tolfe is the 10th and final section of the day. The three star piece of road is challenging but short, at 1.1km. It begins with a steep descent, before rearing up again and reaching 18% gradients on the small climb. Once they exit Le Tolfe, the riders will have 12km to go to the line.

The finish towards the Piazza del Campo in Siena remains the same and there is no reason to change it. It is a brutal climb with gradients up to 16% in the final two kilometres before the line, it is not a straightforward finish. Few races have ended with more than once rider sprinting for glory.

Strade Bianche began in 2007 as the Eroica, inspired by the gran fondo of the same name. The race saw its first Italian winner last season, when Moreno Moser led home his teammate Peter Sagan and Ag2r's Rianldo Nocentini. It continues to gain popularity with the Classics riders and the addition of Roma Maxima the following day has added to its appeal and it has been named as a similar race to the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix, despite the race being a bit less hostile.

Morser’s Cannondale team is one of the 18 teams in the event, along with 10 more WorldTour teams, including Trek, who can boast two-time winner Fabian Cancellara.