diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 9f80118531a3d44dc96d07fee722d1f7457f90c1..13bbd939694275d60da409f151e4b4b9427f199c 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ image: python:rc-alpine
 #python:alpine
 
 before_script:
-  - pip install --upgrade pip
+  # forcing version 20.0.1 as 20.0.2 has https://github.com/pypa/pip/issues/7217
+  # reset to default "pip install --upgrade pip" when the issue is resolved
+  - pip install --upgrade pip==20.0.1
   - pip install markdown
   - pip install Pygments
   - pip install mkdocs