Aussies out of place entering stadium

The Australian Olympic team will march into Beijing's "Bird's Nest" stadium on Friday night in an unusual position, but with just about everything else about its Game's campaign in proper order.

Rather than being among the first nations to enter as they have been at every other Games, the Chinese alphabet has placed the Aussies 203rd of the 205 competing nations.

But to the man carrying the Australian flag, it won't be a problem.

Triple rowing gold medallist and six-time Olympian James Tomkins leads the Australians into a 29th Games that is expected to be one of its best.

"I will walk into the stadium with a great team behind me and a nation cheering us all on," Tomkins said.

Officials expect 230 Australian athletes to march on Saturday night - just under 70 per cent of those who are in the Olympic village.

One medal hope who won't be among them is Cadel Evans, who will be on his bike the next morning in the road race.

Evans has been under a cloud with a damaged knee ligament suffered on the same night he crossed the line in second place in the Tour de France.

When he rides on Saturday he is more likely to be in a cloud.

As the first endurance athletes to pit themselves against the Beijing smog, the cyclists are cast in the role of unenviable guinea pigs.

They will pedal for 245 kilometres in conditions the Chinese claim are safe, but which most others are treating with caution and concern.

"The air is very thick, obviously you can see it's polluted .... it's not very oxygenated," Evans said after a training ride on the race course on Thursday.

"There's a bit of a valley, you've always got a bit of a breeze, so normally that would clean it up a bit - we'll see on the day."

The first Australians in action on Friday will be in the dressage competition in Hong Kong, with the shooters taking aim soon after in Beijing.

They follow the Olyroos who drew 1-1 with Serbia their tournament opener in Shanghai Thursday night.

Photo Gallery: Olympic flag-bearers