It takes two to make a bad start to a race (5)
I believe the answer is:
brace
'it takes two' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'make a bad start to a race' is the wordplay.
'make' indicates anagramming the letters.
'start' says to take the initial letters.
'to a' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
The initial letter of 'bad' is 'b'.
'b' after 'race' is 'raceb'.
'raceb' is an anagram of 'BRACE'.
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for brace that I've seen before include "Pair; hand drill" , "Strengthening piece" , "Steady; pair" , "Two of a kind" , "Pair - supporting beam" .)