Zach Bell continues to be frustrated by his lack of form on the bike this season.

The 32-year-old Watson Lake native is competing at the 2015 Global Relay Canadian Championships this weekend in Saint-Georges, Que.

Yesterday, he finished 10th overall in the time trial, 4:17 off winner Hugo Houle’s pace.

“It was not a great performance,” Bell told the Star yesterday. “I am still not in a competitive league.

“This year has been a real struggle to be competitive and today was another day in that story.”

Bell, who recently returned to action following a month-long layoff, said he continues to be frustrated after training all winter and spring in good health.

“The form still seems to be avoiding me,” he said succinctly.

Bell is one of six former Canadian road champions taking part in this year’s event.

The two-time Olympian won the 2013 road title on this same course.

Quebec’s Houle topped the elite men’s group with a time of 57:13 in the 42-kilometre time trial, earning the coveted red-and-white jersey.

The course featured a variety of long climbs, gusting winds and beautiful, previously-unused pavement.

Karol-Ann Canuel of Quebec won the 30-km elite women’s time trial race with a time of 45:05.

Today, the women’s road race will take place. The men’s event goes Saturday.

A total of 122 men, 62 women and 41 para-cyclists are participating in the national road championships.

Bell is one of three Team SmartStop cyclists competing, alongside Rob Britton and Kristofer Dahl.

Britton finished fifth, while Dahl was 16th in the field of 50.

Bell, Team SmartStop’s captain, recently returned to action after spending a month on the sidelines.

He spent the time at his home in North Vancouver recovering from a fatigue that saw him able to race at only 70 per cent of his usual capability.

Last year, Bell missed a month of racing due to a broken collarbone.