diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 8136fa46b1be020986a235d774ce65f7812f21e8..4f78c4f03129f831c3f37c41e58953ed2ce77ad7 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 variables:
   # note: GitLab cannot reference variables defined by users in the include ref:, we need to use a YAML anchor for this
   # see https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/yaml/includes/#use-variables-with-include for more information
-  IVAS_CODEC_CI_REF: &IVAS_CODEC_CI_REF main
+  IVAS_CODEC_CI_REF: &IVAS_CODEC_CI_REF test-separate-stages
 
 include:
   - local: .gitlab-ci/variables.yml