diff --git a/.ci-operator.yaml b/.ci-operator.yaml
index e2fbe81824..a83f0f8430 100644
--- a/.ci-operator.yaml
+++ b/.ci-operator.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 build_root_image:
   name: release
   namespace: openshift
-  tag: rhel-9-release-golang-1.20-openshift-4.16
+  tag: rhel-9-release-golang-1.21-openshift-4.16
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index c09e124111..ddac50fecb 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 module github.com/openshift/cluster-ingress-operator
 
-go 1.20
+go 1.21
 
 require (
 	github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-go v46.0.0+incompatible