diff --git a/e2e/tests/journeys.spec.ts b/e2e/tests/journeys.spec.ts
index 07c4c4e..2ae9462 100644
--- a/e2e/tests/journeys.spec.ts
+++ b/e2e/tests/journeys.spec.ts
@@ -81,8 +81,11 @@ test('rankings stay populated after picking a specific year', async ({ page }) =
   const yearSelect = page.locator('#year-select');
   await expect(yearSelect).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15_000 });
 
-  // Pick the first explicit year option (index 0 is the "Latest" default).
-  const yearValue = await yearSelect.locator('option').nth(1).getAttribute('value');
+  // Pick the last option — the most recent explicit year. The default view
+  // already proved this year has rows, so an empty table after selecting it
+  // can only mean the year param was rejected. (The oldest year is no good
+  // here: staging doesn't always carry the full data history.)
+  const yearValue = await yearSelect.locator('option').last().getAttribute('value');
   expect(yearValue).toBeTruthy();
   await yearSelect.selectOption(yearValue!);
   await page.waitForURL(/year=/);