diff --git a/cmd/review-bot/main.go b/cmd/review-bot/main.go
index bc1f192..d84afb3 100644
--- a/cmd/review-bot/main.go
+++ b/cmd/review-bot/main.go
@@ -85,8 +85,9 @@ func main() {
 	aicoreResourceGroup := flag.String("aicore-resource-group", envOrDefault("AICORE_RESOURCE_GROUP", "default"), "SAP AI Core resource group (for provider=aicore)")
 
 	// Backward-compatible alias: --gitea-url shares vcsURL's pointer (last flag wins).
-	// Shares vcsURL pointer; empty default avoids ordering dependency with vcsURL declaration.
-	flag.StringVar(vcsURL, "gitea-url", "", "Deprecated: use --vcs-url instead")
+	// Must use *vcsURL as default: StringVar sets *p=value at registration, so empty
+	// string would overwrite the env-resolved value from the --vcs-url declaration.
+	flag.StringVar(vcsURL, "gitea-url", *vcsURL, "Deprecated: use --vcs-url instead")
 
 	flag.Parse()