diff --git a/pika/main.py b/pika/main.py
index 6fd5707..3339fe5 100644
--- a/pika/main.py
+++ b/pika/main.py
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ def __init__(self, config: Dict[str, Any], inference_only: bool = False) -> None
             config["model"].update(dict(self.model.hparams))
             self.model_state = "pretrained"
         else:
+            config["model"].pop("checkpoint", None)
             self.model = PikaModel(**config["model"])
             self.model_state = "init"