Loser of a classic race (8)
I believe the answer is:
atalanta
'classic race' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'loser of a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for atalanta that I've seen before include "hunter" , "Swinburne wrote - in Calydon" , "Greek huntress defeated in a running race" , "Mythological fast-running girl" , "girl who stopped to pick apples" .)