The pair claimed victories in the team elimination and 40-lap derny events to end the third day of the competition on 340 points at The Amsterdam Velodrome.

Germany's Leif Lampater and Marcel Kalz remain the closest challengers to the Belgian team and four second-place finishes helped them end on 295 points, 45 adrift of De Ketele and De Pauw.

Switzerland's Tristan Marguet and Claudio Imhoff are also comfortably in the top three as they have 256 points.

Lampater and Kalz had boosted their chances of usurping the Belgians at the summit of the standings when they crossed the line second behind compatriots Christian Grasmann and Max Beyer in the longest lap competition.

De Ketele and De Pauw could only manage seventh but they bounced back with third in the 200 metres madison time trial, clocking a time of 10.464sec.

Marguet and Imhoff won the race in 10.290, with Lampater and Kalz earning another second place result.

The next race of the day, the team elimination event, proved crucial to De Ketele and De Pauw holding onto their advantage as they overcame their German rivals, while Yoeri Havik and Wim Stroetinga of The Netherlands were third.

The two-lap madison time trial went the way of the Swiss duo of Marguet and Imhoff, whose victory helped them tighten their grip on third in the overall standings.

Their triumph came thanks to a time of 21.375, with Lampater and Kalz second and Havik Stroetinga third.

De Ketele and De Pauw then clinched their second victory of the day in the 40-lap derny competition, before Nick Stöpler and Roy Pieters from The Netherlands emerged triumphant in the madison chase, capping off another thrilling session of races at the event.

Action in Amsterdam continues tomorrow.