diff --git a/ci/test_wheel.sh b/ci/test_wheel.sh
index 3c505b332..c9212a5d7 100755
--- a/ci/test_wheel.sh
+++ b/ci/test_wheel.sh
@@ -21,8 +21,13 @@ fi
 # echo to expand wildcard before adding `[extra]` requires for pip
 python -m pip install \
   -v \
-  --extra-index-url "${INDEX_URL}" \
-  "$(echo ./dist/pylibwholegraph_${RAPIDS_PY_CUDA_SUFFIX}*.whl)[test]" \
+  "$(echo ./dist/pylibwholegraph_${RAPIDS_PY_CUDA_SUFFIX}*.whl)[test]"
+
+# install torch separately, to be sure we get a CUDA build
+python -m pip install \
+  --index-url "${INDEX_URL}" \
+  -v \
+  --no-deps \
   'torch>=2.0,<2.4.0a0'
 
 RAPIDS_TESTS_DIR=${RAPIDS_TESTS_DIR:-"${PWD}/test-results"}