Crossword Genius

Withdraw from race, disheartened with deal (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

retreat

'withdraw' is the definition.
(I know that withdraw can be written as retreat)

'race disheartened with deal' is the wordplay.
'disheartened' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters) (the middle or heart is removed).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'deal' becomes 'treat' (I've seen this before).
'race' with its centre removed is 're'.
're'+'treat'='RETREAT'

'from' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for retreat that I've seen before include "Back away" , "What cowards might do" , "Go back" , "care home" , "withdrawal" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app