diff --git a/src/node/network/mod.rs b/src/node/network/mod.rs
index 8a321c570..ea3d3c3cc 100644
--- a/src/node/network/mod.rs
+++ b/src/node/network/mod.rs
@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ impl HlNetworkBuilder {
             provider: ctx.provider().clone(),
         });
         let number = ctx.provider().last_block_number().unwrap_or(1);
+        let number = std::cmp::max(number, 1);
 
         ctx.task_executor()
             .spawn_critical("block import", async move {