diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/vimeo.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/vimeo.py
index 10844f39e6..11c7d7e817 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/vimeo.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/vimeo.py
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ def _real_extract(self, url):
         if video_thumbnail is None:
             video_thumbs = config["video"].get("thumbs")
             if video_thumbs and isinstance(video_thumbs, dict):
-                _, video_thumbnail = sorted((int(width), t_url) for (width, t_url) in video_thumbs.items())[-1]
+                _, video_thumbnail = sorted((int(width if width.isdigit() else 0), t_url) for (width, t_url) in video_thumbs.items())[-1]
 
         # Extract video description
         video_description = None