diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index cf399bbd6..950b35591 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -268,9 +268,7 @@ addons:
 
 # tools/pip_install.py is used to pin packages to a known working version
 # except in tests where the environment variable CERTBOT_NO_PIN is set.
-# virtualenv is listed here explicitly to make sure it is upgraded when
-# CERTBOT_NO_PIN is set.
-install: "tools/pip_install.py codecov tox virtualenv"
+install: "tools/pip_install.py -U codecov tox"
 script: tox
 
 after_success: '[ "$TOXENV" == "py27-cover" ] && codecov -F linux'