diff --git a/virtualenv.py b/virtualenv.py
index d1a344a..1d46506 100755
--- a/virtualenv.py
+++ b/virtualenv.py
@@ -613,7 +613,6 @@ def main():
parser.add_option(
"--download",
dest="download",
- default=True,
action="store_true",
help="Download preinstalled packages from PyPI.",
)