diff --git a/cloud/linode/client/client.go b/cloud/linode/client/client.go
index a02e43f9..abf5bee7 100644
--- a/cloud/linode/client/client.go
+++ b/cloud/linode/client/client.go
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ package client
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
+	"os"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/linode/linodego"
@@ -56,8 +58,11 @@ type Client interface {
 // linodego.Client implements Client
 var _ Client = (*linodego.Client)(nil)
 
-// New creates a new linode client with a given token, userAgent, and API URL
-func New(token, userAgent, apiURL string, timeout time.Duration) (*linodego.Client, error) {
+// New creates a new linode client with a given token and default timeout
+func New(token string, timeout time.Duration) (*linodego.Client, error) {
+	userAgent := fmt.Sprintf("linode-cloud-controller-manager %s", linodego.DefaultUserAgent)
+	apiURL := os.Getenv("LINODE_URL")
+
 	tokenSource := oauth2.StaticTokenSource(&oauth2.Token{AccessToken: token})
 	oauth2Client := &http.Client{
 		Transport: &oauth2.Transport{
@@ -72,6 +77,6 @@ func New(token, userAgent, apiURL string, timeout time.Duration) (*linodego.Clie
 	}
 	client.SetUserAgent(userAgent)
 
-	klog.V(3).Infof("Linode client created with default timeout of %v seconds", timeout)
+	klog.V(3).Infof("Linode client created with default timeout of %v", timeout)
 	return client, nil
 }
diff --git a/cloud/linode/cloud.go b/cloud/linode/cloud.go
index a2e9a04c..f1138988 100644
--- a/cloud/linode/cloud.go
+++ b/cloud/linode/cloud.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
-	"github.com/linode/linodego"
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
 	"golang.org/x/exp/slices"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/informers"
@@ -22,7 +21,6 @@ const (
 	ProviderName       = "linode"
 	accessTokenEnv     = "LINODE_API_TOKEN"
 	regionEnv          = "LINODE_REGION"
-	urlEnv             = "LINODE_URL"
 	ciliumLBType       = "cilium-bgp"
 	nodeBalancerLBType = "nodebalancer"
 )
@@ -97,18 +95,15 @@ func newCloud() (cloudprovider.Interface, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s must be set in the environment (use a k8s secret)", regionEnv)
 	}
 
-	url := os.Getenv(urlEnv)
-	ua := fmt.Sprintf("linode-cloud-controller-manager %s", linodego.DefaultUserAgent)
-
 	// set timeout used by linodeclient for API calls
 	timeout := client.DefaultClientTimeout
 	if raw, ok := os.LookupEnv("LINODE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_SECONDS"); ok {
-		if t, _ := strconv.Atoi(raw); t > 0 {
+		if t, err := strconv.Atoi(raw); err == nil && t > 0 {
 			timeout = time.Duration(t) * time.Second
 		}
 	}
 
-	linodeClient, err := client.New(apiToken, ua, url, timeout)
+	linodeClient, err := client.New(apiToken, timeout)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("client was not created succesfully: %w", err)
 	}