Therefore, there is much more room for error before causing a crash. In a Men's pro pack, the riders ride so close together that they will regularly be on the verge of making contact and often do without crashing. They maintain this closeness while corner at speeds of 25 to 35 miles per hour. If you sit in a corner and watch the distance between the front and back wheels of pro's, they regularly ride only a few inches apart through the entire corner without the distance between their wheels varying by more than one inch. This kind of close racing requires very smooth riding just to survive.
Erratic riding causes crashes in such tight quarters.
To be safe in such tight quarters, riders must be predictable and being predictable requires being smooth. Most pro's will tell you that one of the most important skills to learn is to be able to ride a straight line for long distances. This is very important when in tight quarters because you have to keep a relatively straight and smooth line. A wobble of just six inches can put you and others down in an instant. You can practice by trying to ride on the lines on the shoulder of the road or in parking lots without coming off the line for as long as possible.