Backsliding British publication went ahead and took risks (7)
I believe the answer is:
gambled
'took risks' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to competing as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?
'backsliding british publication went ahead' is the wordplay.
'backsliding' is a reversal indicator.
'british' becomes 'b' (abbreviation e.g. in 'BBC').
'publication' becomes 'mag' (abbreviation for magazine).
'went ahead' becomes 'led' (led the way).
'b'+'mag'='bmag'
'bmag' reversed gives 'gamb'.
'gamb'+'led'='GAMBLED'
'and' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gambled that I've seen before include "Wagered" , "Took a chance" , "Took a punt" , "Made a bet" , "Speculated - took chances" .)