diff --git a/smoke/venv.sh b/smoke/venv.sh
index 9d211db..5b166dd 100755
--- a/smoke/venv.sh
+++ b/smoke/venv.sh
@@ -30,7 +30,11 @@ set -u
 python -c 'import sys; print(sys.version)' | head -n1 | grep $VERSION
 
 # install packages with pip
-python -m pip install pytest
+if [ "$VERSION" == "2.6" ]; then
+    pip install pytest Cython
+else
+    python -m pip install pytest Cython
+fi
 
 # run tests
 cat > test_foo.py << EOF
@@ -58,7 +62,6 @@ from Cython.Build import cythonize
 setup(ext_modules = cythonize('module.pyx'))
 EOF
 
-python -m pip install Cython
 python setup.py build_ext --inplace
 
 python -c 'import module; print(module.two())' | grep '^2$'