diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index a86792a374d8949b70a8ddb111cd2c4fe936e9fd..18fc5e4c867324d6993db50b63427adebb5b5a9f 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ include:
  - local: '.gitlab-ci/container.yml'
 
 variables:
+  # Force the use of git clone to avoid odd git and repo problems
+  GIT_STRATEGY: "clone"
   # output upload and download progress every 10 seconds
   TRANSFER_METER_FREQUENCY: "10s"
   # Use no compression for artifacts