The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word BIATHLON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
B
I
A
T
H
L
O
N
More clues leading to the result BIATHLON
- Sports contest initially banned in most of Leinster town
- Book one Irish town briefly for contest
- Local’s first in dazzling habit performing in winter sports event
- One dismissed, playing Albion with no backs in the event
- Sports event in pool where this person’s invested half of capital
- Sports event in historic city including one type of jump that’s a bit short
- Contest in two parts — learner can get into both in a broadcast
- Hobnail boot’s tip damaged in cross-country event
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Contest in two parts" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case contest in two parts = biathlon.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does BIATHLON mean?
BIATHLON noun- A winter sport combining cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.