diff --git a/drivers/md/md-cluster.c b/drivers/md/md-cluster.c
index a7a561af05c9..617a0aefc1c4 100644
--- a/drivers/md/md-cluster.c
+++ b/drivers/md/md-cluster.c
@@ -239,15 +239,6 @@ static void recover_bitmaps(struct md_thread *thread)
 	while (cinfo->recovery_map) {
 		slot = fls64((u64)cinfo->recovery_map) - 1;
 
-		/* Clear suspend_area associated with the bitmap */
-		spin_lock_irq(&cinfo->suspend_lock);
-		list_for_each_entry_safe(s, tmp, &cinfo->suspend_list, list)
-			if (slot == s->slot) {
-				list_del(&s->list);
-				kfree(s);
-			}
-		spin_unlock_irq(&cinfo->suspend_lock);
-
 		snprintf(str, 64, "bitmap%04d", slot);
 		bm_lockres = lockres_init(mddev, str, NULL, 1);
 		if (!bm_lockres) {
@@ -266,6 +257,16 @@ static void recover_bitmaps(struct md_thread *thread)
 			pr_err("md-cluster: Could not copy data from bitmap %d\n", slot);
 			goto dlm_unlock;
 		}
+
+		/* Clear suspend_area associated with the bitmap */
+		spin_lock_irq(&cinfo->suspend_lock);
+		list_for_each_entry_safe(s, tmp, &cinfo->suspend_list, list)
+			if (slot == s->slot) {
+				list_del(&s->list);
+				kfree(s);
+			}
+		spin_unlock_irq(&cinfo->suspend_lock);
+
 		if (hi > 0) {
 			/* TODO:Wait for current resync to get over */
 			set_bit(MD_RECOVERY_NEEDED, &mddev->recovery);