diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 50ce50ec16bcc4127d83b480d4c4d62c2407eba1..4e05ecbc501a4a13a108e4b6480107c3916ab4e9 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ cache:
 
 before_script:
   - python --version ; pip --version  # For debugging
+  - pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
   - pip install virtualenv
   - virtualenv venv
   - source venv/bin/activate